2018 - Page 2 of 6 - ivetriedthat

35 Paid Online Research Studies Seeking Participants

Written By:Steve Wrzeszczynski

Last Updated:February 5, 2024

How can one participate in paid online research studies and get paid for your brain, your health, and your opinions?

Well, you’re in the right place.

Today, let’s look at 35 different opportunities to get paid as a participant in research studies.

Types of Paid Online Research Studies

A medical study involves a group of people within an age group, gender, race, ethnic group, or individuals with the same specific health issues.

Participating in these studies often involves answering a combination of interviews, tests, surveys, or experimentation to be able to answer questions on how to diagnose, treat, prevent, or cure health disorders and diseases.

Aside from paid medical studies, market research makes use of paid online research to find out what customers want or need from various products and companies.

The cool thing about paid online research studies available today is that even if you are not a part of the target audience, you can still participate in the study in another capacity.

Online research studies can be either quantitative or qualitative.

Quantitative studies are the ones with static, pre-planned answers. A questionnaire with multiple-choice answers is a good example of this study. It is made as such so that the researcher can easily analyze the results.

Qualitative studies are a bit more complex since they involve open-ended answers.

However, this type of study ends up with better data. Focus groups and interviews are both methods used in qualitative studies.

How Much Can You Earn from Paid Research Studies?

Imagine earning up to $1,000 just for sharing your opinion, review of a product, or thoughts about a particular experience without even stepping out of the house.

You don’t even have to spend a cent to participate in these research studies.

Most of the time, you’d only have to be at least 18 years old and currently live in the US.

Even when you’re below 18 years old, researchers sometimes allow you to participate as long as you had a waiver from your parent or legal guardian.

The amount you earn from joining research studies depend on the following:

Method of research — Did you join a focus group? Answered a lengthy interview? Filled out a survey form?

Length of study — Some interviews only take an hour and earn you $150. Some focus groups could take several sessions and end only after several weeks.

Type of payment — Not all companies pay cash. Some use PayPal, while others prefer checks, gift cards, prepaid cards, and so on.

Quick surveys can be as little as $10 and high as $100.

Focus group sessions range between $50 and $500 per session.

Interviews can earn you somewhere from $50 to $400 for an hour of your time.

Simply put, the amount you’ll be paid will vary from study to study.

Join These to Start Making Money Today!

Before digging into the list below, I suggest you sign up for the 3 best focus group/market research companies.

Anyone can participate and you will be invited to take part in research studies, focus groups, and product testing opportunities.

These companies pay in cash and offer cash signup bonuses to get you started.

On to the list!

35 Ways to Get Paid for Research Studies Online

The following universities have year-long research studies in a wide range of topics.

1. Northwestern University Department of Psychology

Earn from $10 to $40 an hour if you participate in one of the school’s online studies.

The studies change regularly and vary widely from topics such as phone usage, changes in thoughts and feelings, Artificial Intelligence, sleeping patterns, psychosis, aging, and even products like hearing aids.

2. Harvard University Psychology Study Pool

Join Harvard’s Psychology Study Pool and earn from $10 to $25 an hour, paid via gift cards.

The online studies are available year-round for both Harvard students and guests.

3. Carnegie Mellon University

If you’re at least 18 years old, can read and speak English, and have never joined any research studies at the Center for Behavioral and Decision Research at Carnegie Mellon, you can sign up for their paid online research studies.

Topics range from personal beliefs, attitudes, decision-making, human judgment, interpersonal perceptions, and group performance, among others.

You’ll earn $8 an hour, paid in gift cards. Each study takes anywhere from 5 and 20 minutes.

Paid participants are needed for in-person studies in labs on campus, but may sometimes be able to participate online on a home computer.

Note that only students are accepted (ID will be requested).

4. Center for Decision Sciences Columbia Business School

For participating in an online survey or study, you can earn $16 an hour, as long as you’re 18+ years old and have a PayPal or Amazon.com account to receive payments.

No need to be a student at Columbia Business School, but you need to register in the CDS Virtual Lab Online Panel.

5. MIT Behavioral Research Lab

There are in-person and paid online research studies available at MIT.

Payment amounts vary from study to study, but participants usually earn $11 to $20 per hour for online studies.

Anyone aged 18 or older, residing in the United States, and proficient in spoken and written English can join the BRL participant pool.

Membership is open to all; you don’t need any association with MIT to participate. Other requirements may be needed for studies requiring specific respondents.

6. University of Maryland Robert H. Smith School of Business

As long as you’re a current Smith student (and eligible for certain studies), you can get paid for research studies online here.

Make sure you create an account, sign up for the studies that you want to participate in, and get paid once you fulfill your role.

7. Purdue University

You can find a lot of paid online studies here.

Currently, they have studies on Parkinson’s disease (and other neurodegenerative diseases), flavored water, biosensors, mushroom nutrition, linguistics, cancer, and so on.

Participants are paid somewhere between $10 and $500.

What’s great about Purdue University is that the studies are varied and open to the public.

8. Stanford Graduate School of Business

You’ll be paid up to $25 an hour for online research studies, but you’d have to be eligible and complete a prescreen form.

You also can’t participate in the same study more than once.

9. UCLA Anderson School of Management

The behavioral lab has some paid online studies, if you’re interested in topics like consumer behavior, organizational behavior, judgment, and other similar topics.

Most studies here pay from $10 to $20 an hour.

They also have in-lab and in-person studies.

10. Boston University Behavioral Lab

If you’re interested in human behavior and is willing to participate in online studies, try to join if you’re eligible.

These studies pay between $10 and $20 an hour.

The studies from Boston University’s Behavioral Lab is open to both BU students and the general public.

11. University of Maryland Department of Psychology

You need to create an account at the SONA System website to see available research studies.

Each of the studies have different eligibilities and payment.

12. University of Nebraska-Lincoln

This college holds a wide range of research studies revolving MRI research, human brain, behavior, and so on.

There are studies exclusively for seniors, and those that are for teens.

There are two ways to volunteer for these studies:

Join the CB3 Research Participant Volunteer Registry (and wait for them to e-mail you)
Pick the study and contact researchers directly.

Pay can go as high as $80 per study.

13. American University Psychology Department

Topics vary widely, but they are related to psychology and human behavior.

You can earn up to $20 an hour for just filling out a form as a smoker’s first-hand experience during stressful situations.

14. Respondent.IO

This next one isn’t a university, but it’s a comprehensive resource if you plan to participate in numerous market research and other online studies.

Pay ranges from $25 to $200.

Eligibility requirements vary between studies.

Make sure to check details and never pay to join a focus group or study.

15. Brand Institute

Want to be at the forefront of the pharmaceutical industry?

Join consumer market research panel groups by signing up with Brand Institute.

16. mindswarms

It’s sort of like an interview since you are required to answer ten questions with a video.

In exchange for your thoughts, you’ll be paid $50.

17. Engage

Earn somewhere between $50 and $250 by participating in healthcare or consumer market research studies.

18. Probe Market Research

The company pays people for online, phone or group interviews about their clients’ products, services, ads, or other campaigns.

Payment goes as high as $400.

19. Penn State University

(Quick shoutout to my Alma Mater… We Are!)

… and they are seeking just about anyone who’s alive to participate in a research study. With over 200 current open studies, odds are, you’ll qualify for something they have available.

Keep an eye out for “Total Compensation” to see just what the study pays.

20. User Interviews

Get paid for your feedback on real projects.

Create an account by filling up a form and wait for project invitations if you’re eligible.

There are online and in-phone interviews available.

21. Yale School of Management

If you live anywhere near Yale campus, be sure to sign up for their newsletter as they frequently put out requests for both in person and paid online research studies.

You will be paid, in cash, at the completion of your study.

They also have a Facebook group that announces when new studies are available to participate in.

22. Georgetown University Department of Psychology

Georgetown’s Department of Psychology is regularly looking for both students and non-students alike to participate in studies.

Average pay will run you about $10 per hour, so it can be some nice change to pick up in your spare time.

Their research includes personality, memory, and impulse control tests to name a few.

23. UCLA Semel Institute

UCLA offers both in-person and online research studies to check out.

They have a massive list of open opportunities for you to click through. The highest paying ones often need you to come into their offices for scans and interviews, but there are a lot of remote positions available too.

24. PingPong

Web designers and developers working on websites and applications value the input of real-life users and are willing to pay for these users’ opinions and insights

You can get paid anywhere from €15 to €40 per hour and even up to €100 for special projects.

Payment is credited through Transferwise or PayPal.

25. American Consumer Opinion

Yet another survey site, American Consumer Opinion (ACOP) pays you for your answers to their survey questions.

You can even get paid up to $100 if you fit a certain demographic and able to participate in special projects.

Research studies on this site may not be constantly available, though. It’s best to check back frequently.

26. Recruit and Field

Recruit and Field is a market research company that hosts paid online research studies all around the US and even in international locations.

They look for participants from any gender and age for their studies, including professionals and medical professionals (doctor, nurse, lab technician).

They normally pay via PayPal but also offer Amazon or digital gift cards.

The pay ranges from $100 to $275 for phone interviews, online surveys, and sometimes in-home product testing.

27. Focus Group

Focus Group is an aptly named online community comprised of participants interested in sharing opinions and views on popular products and brands through in-person, telephone, or online surveys.

The pay ranges from $75 to $200, and specialized health studies may pay more.

28. 20|20 Panel

Since 1986, 20|20 Panel has been recruiting participants to share their opinion on various companies.

They specialize in qualitative market research, which is achieved via in-person or online roundtable discussions. You can get paid from $50 to $350 to participate in these discussions.

They also send out quick surveys for which you can get paid smaller amounts (from $1 to $10).

29. FindFocusGroups

Wouldn’t it be great if there were a directory of all the paid research opportunities in the country?

FindFocusGroups is probably the closest one, as it lists more than 75,000 verified and legitimate focus groups in the country.

It’s quite simple to search by city and state, and check the information for details on whether the discussions are online or in-person.

It’s difficult to know how much the average payment would be, but upon browsing the first few studies on the homepage, they range from $50 to $300.

30. SIS International

SIS International conducts focus group discussions in cities all over the US and globally and collects consumer feedback on anything from appliances, skincare products, gadgets, and just about anything.

Rates range from $25 to $200 for 2 to 3 hours of your time.

31. Apex Focus Group

Apex Focus Group connects regular people like you and me with researchers, who will pay for participants to join clinical research trials, phone interviews and focus groups.

As a participant at any Apex Focus Group study, you can be paid up to $750 a week.

Online and in-person studies are available.

32. Fieldwork

If you live near New Jersey, New York City, Phoenix, San Francisco, Seattle, Boston, Chicago, Denver, Los Angeles, or Minneapolis, you can participate in current Fieldwork research studies.

Most of the paid focus groups are face-to-face (but online are sometimes available).

Each study lasts about 1 or 2 hours. Participants earn between $75 and $100 for their time.

33. Rare Patient Voice

This company mostly looks for participants who have rare diseases and medical conditions. As such, only eligible people can benefit from the studies.

However, anyone who qualifies will receive $120/hour.

You can share your views via online surveys, clinical trials, or web-assisted phone interviews.

34. ClinicalTrials.gov

The federal government continually seeks individuals willing to participate in clinical trials testing different medications and treatments.

Studies are often conducted by the National Institutes of Health.

You can check out a list of ongoing clinical trials at clinicaltrials.gov.

35. DScout

Unlike other paid online research studies on this list, DScout is an app you can download.

You need to register to become a “scout” and participate in research “missions,” which will earn you money after completion.

DScout studies are usually 1-on-1 interviews or video responses, so you’d have to be comfortable in front of the camera.

Missions pay from $50 to $100, each lasting about 30 minutes.

Can I turn these Paid Online Research Studies into a Full-Time Job?

While paid online studies are highly interesting and offer legitimate side cash, this gig cannot replicate the steady income and benefits you can get with a full-time job.

You’d have to consider that many research studies:

have eligibility requirements (which means you’re not guaranteed a slot every time)

cannot be joined twice (once you’ve participated in a specific study, you can’t do a repeat)

have varying payments (there’s no stability in such income)

I do think it’s a legitimate side gig if you’re in between jobs or have a lot of free time on your hands.

You can also get paid answering surveys, joining focus groups, or testing products.

28 Online Jobs for Artists That Pay for Your Creativity

Written By:Steve Wrzeszczynski

Last Updated:November 24, 2020

Online jobs for artists are tricky to find.

In this day and age, anyone can get a full-time job in the comforts of their own homes and earn a livable income without the hassles of the daily commute, spending gas money, and so on.

That’s why I took the time to find different freelance art jobs to help you come up with legitimate ways you can get paid for your creativity.

Finding online jobs for artists that would preserve their artistry is harder to find because these gigs must have:

an acceptable compensation and;
an opportunity that would keep their creativity alive.

Artists are a special breed of people—they bring beauty, enlightenment, awareness, and just overall good vibes to the world. When their creativity, artistry, or spirit burns out, their art suffers in the end.

So what kind of online jobs for artists are there?

Types of Online Jobs for Artists

The cool thing about artistic jobs is that you can do as many or as few freelance art jobs as you want.

Freelance – You can cater to two or more clients at a time. Dabble in advertising, mixed with other specializations like t-shirt design, animation, and so on.
Full-time – As a full-time, but home-based employee, you work exclusively for one company or client. Your tasks are usually described before contract-signing and will continue to be your responsibilities throughout your “employment.”
Part-time – Part-time online jobs for artists are a mix of freelance and full-time gigs. You’d have to follow some kind of strict schedule, say 8 am to 12 noon, but you are free to do other gigs after work.

In the past, online jobs for artists were exclusive to work that requires no team effort.

For example, t-shirt design, tattoo design, and graphic design can all be done by a single person and have been known to be a good fit for work-from-home settings.

Meanwhile, animation work and marketing-related jobs such as branding or advertising often require multiple people in a team of artists to complete the work.

The advancement of communication tools and collaboration apps, as well as how companies now embrace the work-from-home culture have made working with a team easier, even if you actually perform your work at home.

This means the majority of the artistic jobs traditionally available in office-based settings are most likely available as work-at-home jobs as well.

10 Online Art Job Ideas

1. Logo Designer

Logo designers are in demand now more than ever. With how easy it is to start a business these days, everyone is looking for creative ways to showcase their new brands.

Fiverr is where most logo designers hang out, but if you’re looking for a steadier gig or even a stable job, go over to Indeed to check what jobs are available for graphic design.

2. T-Shirt Designer

Learn how to design and sell t-shirts, even without equipment or time for customer service.

T-shirts have the possibility to go viral too. The right design + the right ad could become an insane passive stream of income for years.

3. Illustrator

There are quite a few ways to make money as an online illustrator.

You can draw manually, scan your artwork and upload, or use any modern drawing pens and tablets to bring your art directly to the screen.

There are tons of technology to support illustrators these days, allowing you to create anything from stick people to realistic drawings, from line graphs to more complicated charts and diagrams, and a whole lot more.

You don’t even need to have a degree in illustration, but having one can give you an edge over your competition in terms of pay.

4. Font Designer

Designing fonts may seem silly, but you’d be surprised how a handful of graphic designers are still earning real money with fonts they’ve designed years ago.

A font designer can get employed by a company or you can create and sell your own fonts on various marketplaces.

5. Fashion Designer

When you think fashion design, the first thing that may come to your mind is the glitz and glamour of runways, magazines, photoshoots, and so on.

But before the clothes get into production and presentation (either by print or the runway), designing the actual lingerie, streetwear, dresses, outerwear, pants, tops and other types of clothing comes first.

And fashion design can be done wherever you are, which means it’s a perfect job for freelancers.

Plus, you’d be able to make at least $60k/year for one client alone.

6. Motion Graphics (3D) Artist

If you’re skilled at both special effects and animation, you’d be awesome as a 3D motion graphics artist.

You’d need advanced computer skills (with proficiency in tools like After Effects and Adobe suite) and several projects in your portfolio to land a job.

7. Industrial Designer

Do you have a flair for designing furniture, cars, or other industrial goods? Your skills can take you places if you explore engineering and industrial design.

You’ll need to have a knack for creating designs that balance visual aesthetics, function, user-friendliness, and cost.

This career path is also a lucrative one. An industrial designer can make at least $70k/year (and more if he/she takes on two or more clients).

8. Creative Jobs in the Tech World

This fusion between the arts and the tech industry is an interesting field.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics found out (from surveying 400 marketing and advertising HR managers) that companies are looking for experienced workers with expertise in web production, mobile development, user interface, and interaction design for both mobile and web applications.

There are tons of tech-focused creative jobs available, and more jobs are being invented by the day.

9. Online Art Therapist

Seeing a therapist is not as taboo as it once was, and as jobs migrate to the virtual space, therapists can now hold sessions online.

Yes, even art therapists.

You might need to get a degree and some sort of professional certification and license to officially operate as an art therapist, but if doing art that helps people improve their mental health sounds fulfilling to you, it may well be worth it.

For more information, visit the American Art Therapy Association page.

10. Caricaturist

Art can be funny, too.

If you have a knack for focusing on qualities of a subject and humorously exaggerate it (and not be cruel about it), caricature art may be something to explore.

These days, caricaturists aren’t just hanging out in parks, boardwalks, or events; they can be found online, too.

You can be commissioned to create caricatures from digital photos for printing on heavy board or canvas to be framed or on various merchandise, such as t-shirts, mugs, holiday cards, invitations, etc.

If you’re into political or societal humor, magazines or newsletters may be looking for someone like you.

18 Freelance Art Jobs Available Year-Round

If you’re looking for freelance art jobs you can dip your fingers into, check out these 12 companies that are always in search of creatives like you:

Photographers

Those with mad skills behind the lens could join several websites and earn through either direct sales or commissions.

Avanti Press – For photographers interested in designing greeting cards
Nature Friend – Nature-focused magazine accepts submitted photographs for publication
Obeo – You don’t need a portfolio here. You just have to take decent photos of homes listed in the real estate market
The Sun Magazine – Freelance photographers can earn $100 to $500 for a one-time use of their photos
Papyrus (see under How Do I Submit Artwork) – This greeting card company pays photographers and illustrators for their work to be included in their products

In the past, I’ve talked about several sources where photographers can turn their photos into cash.

Illustrators

Avatar Press – Illustrators and colorists can find regular freelance work with this comic book publisher.
Analog Science Fiction – Exclusive for artists specializing in realistic-looking illustrations.
Cricket Magazine – Only digital formats are accepted to their email.
CafePress – Accepts fan designs of t-shirts, mugs, hats, tote bags, and many more.
Cape Shore – If you’ve mastered painting in oil, watercolor, acrylic, or even mixed media and are interested in creating designs for the company’s holiday-themed paper products, then head over to Cape Shore for the opportunity.
crowdspring – This site connects artists to clients in competitive bids for commissioned work, such as logo design, web pages, cover art, clothing, and many more. Currently, there’s a waitlist to join as a creative, but check back as they have open registrations from time to time.
Edge Science Fiction & Fantasy – Exclusively for book cover artists.
Funny Times – Got high-resolution illustrations with humor infused in them? Submit your artwork here.
Oatmeal Studios – Submit funny greeting card designs and modern cartoon ideas. Oatmeal is always on the lookout for real talent.
Photolamus – Create caricatures from submitted digital photos. Jump to “Artists Information” on the footer, leave your email address, and you’ll get contacted back.
Rubber Stamp Madness – Regularly accepts artwork in specific themes.
Viabella – Greeting card company accepts illustration submissions.
Wild Apple – Wild Apple licenses and publishes creative artists throughout the year.

Where Else to Find Online Jobs for Artists

If you can’t find freelance art jobs from the list above, you can hang out in any of these useful resources:

ArtJobs.com – ArtJobs.com is an international job board in the Arts & Creative Industries, so you’ll see some acting and singing job postings right beside visual artist and illustrator job postings.
Arts Thread – Ideal for graphic design artists.
Authentic Jobs – You get a mix of creative, design, and tech jobs on this job board.
Behance – Classic site allowing all types of visual artists to display their portfolios and connect with employers looking for artists online.
Krop – Creative industry job board and portfolio hosting website, allowing you to search for jobs and display your portfolio on this site.

There’s also FlexJobs, Indeed, Glassdoor, Hubstaff Talent, LinkedIn, and other online job boards that are filled to the brim with opportunities for those deep into creative arts.

The Bottom Line: Artists CAN Make Money!

From the moment you knew you were an artist, I bet you can hear the naysayers clicking their tongues and muttering “just another starving artist.”

Well, they’re wrong!

Persist in looking for online jobs for artists that won’t require you to sacrifice your soul.

You’d be surprised at how many online jobs for artists there really are and how the right opportunity can turn your creativity into your main source of income.

Which of these online jobs are you interested in applying to? Share your thoughts with us in the comments!

15 Profitable Affiliate Marketing Niches for 2023

Written By:Steve Wrzeszczynski

Published On: November 1, 2018

Looking to find the most profitable affiliate marketing niches to really kick start your business?

This should be the case whether you’re a beginner trying to dip your toes into affiliate marketing or someone who had tasted success from this type of business.

As an affiliate marketer, you should always be looking out for profitable affiliate marketing niches. Here’s why:

Find relevant topics – Every niche can have dozens, hundreds or even thousands of sub-niches. Discovering new ones you haven’t talked about on your platform opens up additional income possibilities as well.
Explore a new niche – You have a bit of ownership and control over the website, Facebook account, Instagram, or other platform you use to refer people to affiliate sites. You are the boss of your online business. Even if you’ve decided on a niche a long time ago, it’s still your call if you want to talk about something else.
Attract newcomers – Having a niche already defined means you also have your target audience in place. Adding content to your platform that is beyond your main niche will attract new audience to your blog or social media network. And the more people who follow you, the more referrals and commission potential you receive.

15 Most Profitable Affiliate Marketing Niches

In fashion retail, the hottest product changes quickly from one fad to the next. However, must-have items such as underwear or loungewear never go out of style.

Keep this in mind when it comes to choosing, adding or replacing affiliate marketing niches into your main line of business.

There will always be two kinds of niches:

CLASSIC: the most profitable niches are tried-and-tested to earn higher commissions, and
NEW: Hot, trending, experimental new niches that may or may not be placed on the first group of niches

Let’s start with classic affiliate marketing niches:

Niches that have been proven to work may seem hard to get into, but competition shouldn’t be an issue if you know what you’re doing.

These classic niches often solve a problem many people are looking for, such as how to lose weight, how to make money online, and so on.

Are you a plumber with decades of experience?

Can you explain how to fix pipes in ways a layman can understand?

Then you’re an instant expert in that niche.

Here are 10 more tried-and-tested classic and profitable affiliate marketing niches that will never go out of style:

Health & Wellness

Everybody wants to look and feel better or younger.

It’s human nature.

The good news to affiliate marketers is that technology and medical advancement just keeps on getting better, which means this niche can branch out into numerous sub-topics for years to come.

For example, even a niche as well-researched as diabetes can still be expanded when new studies, medicine, or other discoveries are published.

1. Weight Loss and Diets

Losing weight continues to be a hot topic.

Sub-niches like working out, diets (legit or fads), fitness, nutrition, and other niches related to weight loss will forever be something people search for.

Keep up-to-date with diet food of the year, popular fitness influencers, medical studies, and so on. Be on the lookout for in-demand weight loss products, such as tummy trimmers and supplements, among others.

If implemented right, an affiliate marketing business revolving this topic reaps impressive rewards.

2. Muscle Building

Aside from losing weight, people also look to achieve the opposite: bulking up.

This includes everything related to muscle building, weight training, gym activities, and even supplementing with protein powders and the like.

You’d think topics like this have reached its peak, but new science always pop up and these affiliate marketing niches never go stale.

For example, scientists believe that the “perfect pill” solution to muscle building is getting closer to development.

3. Pregnancy & Mom Blogs

As long as the circle of life continues and no zombie apocalypse occurs anytime soon, pregnancy will always be a sought-after topic for both genders.

What’s interesting is that the pregnancy niche revolves as humans do.

50 years ago, in vitro fertilization and surrogacy were taboo and only ever considered under the radar.

Today, these two procedures have given people who cannot get pregnant the traditional way a safe technique.

With the amount of products marketed to soon-to-be and new mothers, the pregnancy and new baby niches are always viable options.

4. Depression

According to the World Health Organization, 300 million people around the world are depressed.

That’s a lot of people trying to find a solution to how they feel.

Depression isn’t a one-size-fits-all problem either.

Depression can fall under various categories, such as postpartum depression, seasonal depression, bipolar disorder, and so on.

You can either zone in on a specific niche or create a huge website that tackles all kinds of depression in one platform.

The Make Money Online Niches

Since people discovered that it is possible to make money online, blogging for cash, selling products online or just working from home (among many other online opportunities) will continue to be hot affiliate marketing niches.

It opens up income opportunities to those who otherwise won’t have an option, such as homemakers, retirees, students, the disabled, and so on.

5. Digital Marketing

Digital marketing has evolved quite extensively in the last 15 years.

It still refers to advertising through various channels like search engines, email, sites, or mobile apps, but the trends and predictions change from time to time.

What doesn’t change, though, is that companies are aware of how effective digital marketing is and are more than willing to pay for online advertising.

And as long as there are businesses paying, it’s smart to research niches within this field continuously so you are up-to-date with block chain technologies, Internet of Things, and other advancements.

6. Working from Home

The work-from-home industry attracts people of all ages.

It’s mainly because the pros of working from home continue to outweigh the disadvantages.

Plus, companies are welcoming telecommute across the board and see this as part of the work force’s future.

Relationship Niches

Aside from health and money, people become heavily invested in relationships.

As such, don’t be surprised how much money is spent in the dating industry and relationship advice niche.

7. Dating

In the U.S. alone, the online dating industry is estimated to be worth over $2.5 billion.

Imagine how much you could make turning this goldmine niche into a success affiliate marketing business.

8. Marriage

Weddings are absurdly expensive.

Like, stupidly expensive.

For some reason, you throw the word wedding in front of a normal word like cake, or flowers, and it instantly quadruples in price.

It’s not uncommon to see people spend between $20,000-$40,000 on their wedding day.

Now think of how many weddings happen per year.

Yeah, there is A LOT of money here.

Your Passion Niche

Anything people spend time and effort on are always good as affiliate marketing niches because you’re sure that they will spend money on them too.

9. Pets

Pets are like families, especially for dog, cat and other animal lovers.

They need all the basic needs (and some wants) as humans do, so their family members spend money on food, clothes, toys, vitamins, and so on.

Focusing your affiliate marketing on pets can achieve higher returns because the need will always be there for pet products.

10. Expensive Hobbies

Expensive is a relative word, so consider this niche as any activity that can put a strain on a regular Joe’s monthly expenses.

Examples of this include sailing, golf, fishing, collecting art (can be pop culture figures, painting, photos, etc.) and so much more.

If you focus on any of these affiliate marketing niches, you’d be targeting people with bigger budgets to spend.

And the more new-age niches:

Those who are just starting out, or adding a new site to your affiliate marketing empire should check out these up-and-coming niches:

11. 3D Printing

3D printing isn’t new, but the interest with this business is growing as I type this.

When it first came out, only brick-and-mortar printing firms and rich people could afford to try out this new technology.

But now that the 3D printer can be bought at a much lower price, you can get into this industry and reap the benefits of higher affiliate commissions.

12. E-sports gaming

E-sports is a professional-level competition among video game players around the world.

It’s been growing since 2000, but it has now turned into a full-blown industry that you can dip your fingers in and finally make money playing video games.

Choose from gaming guides, hardware, access to games, or other e-sports products.

Whichever route you take, I’m pretty sure you’d be surprised with the level of commitment gamers spend with their craft and how much commissions you’d make.

13. Survivalism

Preppers may be made fun of by the extreme way they prepare for the end of the world, zombie apocalypse, robot/alien invasion, and so on.

But this niche has legitimate reasoning behind the followers’ beliefs, and more people are joining the survivalism lifestyle. Just ask the tech billionaires in Silicon Valley...

There are plenty of sub-niches in the survival niche, too! Aside from home defense, you can dig deeper into homesteading, growing your own food, survival kits, weapons, security supplies, bunkers, tactical tools, and more.

14. Nootropics

Like many brain-boosting health supplements, nootropics became popular overnight and there is no proof that it actually works.

Nootropics is advertised as a supplement that enhances memory and cognition, which in turn, helps with learning and performance of students or professionals.

It’s more likely that nootropics has a placebo effect, but what I’m sure is that any new health supplement has the potential to become a profitable affiliate marketing niche.

15. Digital Currency Investment

Investment in digital currencies and bitcoins can be confusing to many people – that’s why there are tons of crypto scams around.

But if you know your way around this niche, this is the right time to dwell deeper into digital currency. The demand is super-high, and the rewards are shockingly-good.

A Word on Social Media Affiliate Marketing

Traditionally, affiliate marketing is launched and managed on a website. It works and continue to work to this day.

But if you’re new to this business, you’d be pleased to know that you can earn money online with affiliate marketing just by using your social media account.

The rules will be different (some social media platforms don’t allow links with posts), but it is possible.

If you’d like to stick to websites instead, you can still focus on social media and promote tutorials, courses, products that would enhance social media experience, and so on.

The Bottom Line on Affiliate Marketing Niches

Other topics that have a continuous demand (but I didn’t list down here) include:

Green energy – Electricity prices increase around the world, so the demand for alternative energies such as solar, battery, and the like will continue to be a worthy niche to explore.
Virtual reality – It’s not a new niche, but tech companies continue to incorporate VR into new products. This means you’ll have never-ending products to promote and commissions to enjoy.
Learning how to do something – Look for any niche that teaches people to do something, such as talk in another language (English, French, Japanese, Chinese, etc.) or learn how to play a ukulele, and you’re sure to find a niche that people will visit.
Spirituality – Go beyond horoscopes and astrology. There are tons of interesting sub-niches here, such as paranormal, witchcraft, magic, hypnosis, and many more.

Loans, real estate, travel, and insurance will forever be in-demand, but these niches can be hard to get into if you don’t have a huge budget to spend.

To compete with seasoned affiliate marketers or those with unlimited budgets, your best bet is to pick the niche wisely.

I hope these 15 hot and profitable affiliate marketing niches will help you get started build a sustainable online business.

Get Paid to Test Products: 35 Ways to Become a Product Tester

Written By:Steve Wrzeszczynski

Last Updated:February 5, 2024

If you’re a fan of review blogs, you’re probably amazed and maybe a bit jealous of the sheer number of products these bloggers get to use, review, and even keep. While companies automatically send out new products to big-shot bloggers, here’s good news for non-bloggers out there: this isn’t the only way to get paid to test products.

This is a legitimate gig called paid product testing, which earns the tester either cash, gift certificates, or the actual products to test.

What is product testing for, you ask?

Companies do this as part of their market research, often before launching a product completely into the market.

With paid product testing, companies receive much-needed feedback.

Depending on whether the feedback is mostly good or bad, this helps them make a decision: to go ahead and do a full launch of the product, scale back production, or improve the product first before launch.

It really is a fascinating look into product development and provides you with the opportunity to try something new and get paid for your time.

I went ahead and rounded up some of the best options for you. I’ve broken down this list of product testing opportunities into two categories.

Click either link to jump right to the list.

20 Market Research Firms: These are research companies that will pay you to work with a number of different brands to try new things

15 Companies Offering Free Products: These are big-name companies (like Nike and Microsoft) that give you their products in exchange for answering questions

Join these 20 Product Testing Websites

Only a few companies advertise product testing opportunities. Instead, companies prefer to let market research firms handle the entire process (from finding testers to recording results) for them.

These 20 tried-and-tested product testing websites are the online counterpart of market research firms:

1. Opinion Outpost

Opinion Outpost is the best when it comes to market research groups and they are looking for people to take short surveys on upcoming products.

Payments are made via PayPal (cash), Amazon gift cards, or iTunes gift cards.

Their goal is to keep their surveys as short as possible, maximizing the amount of money you can earn per hour.

2. Daily Goodie Box

Daily Goodie Box will send you giant boxes of free stuff and all you have to do is let them know what you think!

You will be working with big companies directly to help them improve their product offerings.

Just fill out their application here, answer a few questions, and start getting tons of free stuff in the mail.

3. Toluna Influencers

This Paris-based company helps brands that require buzz for their products reach influencers across the world to test products.

Anyone can register a free Toluna account, but you have to apply to test products before you can actually participate.

If you are chosen to test the product, you’ll receive the item/s and complete the job by answering the survey included in the assignment.

Toluna regularly has cosmetics and bathroom products to test. What’s great is that every test assignment includes about 200 to 500 products, which means you have a good chance of participating with these gigs even if testers are chosen randomly.

4. Product Testing USA

Product Testing USA works a little differently than other testing sites.

They offer big-name and expensive products from different categories for free, but you enter your name into the pool to see if you will be randomly selected as a product tester.

Previous testers have been given Dyson Vacuums, Xbox Ones, and even iPad Pros.

You only need to enter your name and email address for a chance to be selected. Follow their Facebook page to see previous and upcoming product testing opportunities.

5. Survey Junkie

At Survey Junkie, you work with brands directly as an influencer to help them shape their products.

You can also get paid to give feedback on services.

Members earn points for every activity completed. They can then redeem these points for gift cards or straight cash via PayPal.

Survey Junkie is free to join and the points never expire, so it’s worth spending free time here.

6. Pinecone Research

This market research firm is well-trusted and is one of the oldest ones on this list.

Pinecone Research is known for having the best rates for product testing.

You can get paid to test products such as food, drinks, and beauty products, among others.

Pinecone pays in points, which you can redeem for cash via PayPal or cheque.

7. PINCHme

All you need to do is answer a series of questions about your household and shopping habits, and PINCHme will offer samples that fit your lifestyle. You get to pick and choose the ones you want.

PINCHme will then ship out a box of these free samples from tons of big-name companies directly to your door.

Review these products and get new offers the following month.

You don’t actually get paid for the surveys, but you get to keep the products.

8. UserTesting

This website doesn’t have traditional product testing.

Instead, UserTesting is focused on digital businesses, and its members get paid to test websites or apps for money.

There’s no specialization needed to become a tester here. However, you should be good at noticing small details that affect your visit to a particular website. For example, you should be able to take note if the search bar is hard to find, or if the app crashes every time you save data.

Every test takes only 20 minutes with 99% accepted by UserTesting.

Tests pay $10 via PayPal, and payment comes in 7 days after you complete a website or app test.

Unfortunately, you can’t participate in all of them since your demo background should line up with specific test requirements.

9. BetaTesting.com

Similar to UserTesting, BetaTesting is focused on testing apps, websites, and hardware.

It’s been around since 2012 and has over 200k users to date.

While this product testing opportunity may seem hard to regular folks, since some require checking for bugs on sites, these tests do not call for too many requirements.

BetaTesting, however, rewards comprehensive assessment with more work, so those who submit higher quality feedback receive more opportunities.

FYI, you can receive 0 to 5 product tests per month.

Payment for each assessment ranges from $10 to $20 and is sent via PayPal seven days after project completion.

10. BzzAgent

BzzAgent is a younger company, but it’s one of the few that focuses exclusively on product testing. Most of the tasks here include surveys, focus groups, and so on.

Anyone from the USA, Canada, or the UK can join BzzAgent by simply completing a profile and answering a questionnaire with a few surveys to determine your demo, interests, and areas of expertise.

If you are sent a paid product trial gig via e-mail, you are given 8 weeks to test the product, share your results on social media, and submit feedback to BzzAgent.

BzzAgent sends out a wide range of products, including gadgets, toiletries, cosmetics, home equipment, and more.

The company used to pay cash, but now just gives the products that members test out. Those who promote the products on Instagram, Facebook, or other online platforms tend to receive more testing invitations in the future.

11. Influenster

Simply download the Influenster app and complete your profile.

Occasionally, you’ll receive Snaps as notifications on your phone. These are very short questions that you can quickly answer to help Influenster know you better and increase your chances of getting sent monthly VoxBoxes.

Like many of the newer websites, you won’t get paid to test products with cash, but you get to keep all the products that Influenster sends you. And these aren’t your ordinary products, either; the products come from some of the biggest brands in the beauty and food industries.

12. Valued Opinions

By taking part in online surveys with Valued Opinions US, you can tell brands exactly what you think about their products and services.

Sometimes, if the company includes a product to test, you can get the opportunity to try out new products and packaging. Other companies even ask you to review their advertising campaigns before airing them.

Every time you take one of Valued Opinions paid surveys, you’re helping companies know what they need to do to improve. In exchange, you earn credit that you can redeem as gift cards .

13. American Consumer Opinion Panel (ACOP)

The American Consumer Opinion Panel (ACOP) is a market research panel that gathers opinions and feedback from consumers across the United States.

Participants in ACOP share their views on various products, services, and brands through surveys conducted by the panel.

To get paid on the American Consumer Opinion Panel, participants earn points for completing surveys. These points can later be redeemed for cash, gift cards, or other rewards.

The number of points awarded varies based on the length and complexity of each survey.

Once a participant accumulates a certain number of points, they can exchange them for the available rewards.

Members of ACOP typically receive survey invitations via email, and they can choose to participate in surveys that match their interests or demographics.

It’s important to note that while ACOP compensates participants for their time and opinions, the earnings may not be substantial (so don’t quit your day job just yet). The primary incentive for joining is often the opportunity to share feedback and influence products and services.

14. HomeScan

HomeScan, often associated with the Nielsen company, is a market research program that collects data on consumer purchasing behavior.

Participants in the HomeScan program are provided with a handheld scanner or a mobile app. They use this to scan the barcodes of the products they purchase during their regular shopping trips.

To get paid with HomeScan, participants earn points for every scanned item. These points can be accumulated and later redeemed for various rewards such as gift cards, merchandise, or entries into sweepstakes.

The amount of points awarded for each scanned item may vary. Participants typically have the flexibility to choose the rewards that best suit their preferences.

In addition to the points system, some HomeScan programs offer participants the chance to participate in sweepstakes or other contests, providing an additional opportunity to win prizes.

15. Crowdville

This UK-based company focuses exclusively on apps instead of products.

So anyone who loves checking out new apps should join, review them, and actually get paid to test digital products.

Unlike other product-testing sites that match your demo with the brand’s requirements, Crowdville members have to apply for a “mission” (or the test) to participate.

16. Home Tester Club

Home Tester Club is a product testing and review platform where members have the opportunity to try out various products for free and share their feedback. The platform is designed to gather real consumer opinions on products and services.

Home Tester Club typically compensates members through free products, points/rewards (redeemable for gift cards and discounts), as well as the chance to win at in-house contests and giveaways.

17. Crowdtap

Crowdtap is a platform that connects brands with consumers to gather feedback, insights, and promote products through word-of-mouth marketing.

Members of Crowdtap, known as “Tappers,” participate in various activities to engage with brands and provide valuable feedback.

To get started, sign up and create your profile.

Brands create missions on Crowdtap, which are specific tasks or activities related to their products. Tappers perform these activities, including surveys, discussions, product reviews, and sharing content on social media.

Once Tappers complete these missions, they earn points that are redeemable for various rewards, such as gift cards, product samples, or donations to charity.

18. Ipsos iSay

Ipsos iSay is an online survey platform that allows users to participate in surveys and share their opinions on various topics, products, and services.

The platform is operated by Ipsos, a global market research company. You are paid by points, which you can redeem for gift cards, merchandise or even cash via PayPal.

19. MomSelect

Although this is kind of an exclusive club (for moms-only and influencers with a social media following), joining MomSelect is worth it if you’ve checked both qualifications.

As a MomSelect member, you’ll be asked to attend mom parties and conferences, answer surveys, and test products for cash.

MomSelect is a big deal. They’ve worked with brands like Baby Einstein, Walt Disney World Resort, Chick-Fil-A, Huggies, Beachers, Leap Frog, and Beech-Nut, among others.

20. ThePinkPanel

ThePinkPanel is one of the most sought after beauty-focused consumer panels around.

Anyone can join thePinkPanel, but each member can only test one beauty product within a 6-month-period (and earn from $25 to $100 for each testing).

Online surveys and focus groups are also available and paid up to $100 a pop.

15 Specific Companies that Offer Free Product Testing

Compared to the websites above that make testers review different brands, the following companies have their own in-house product testing programs:

21. Brooks Running

“Wear testers” are given a chance to test running gear, including running shoes and apparel, from Brooks.

These “runner insights” are combined with Brooks’ biomechanics studies or “science insights” to create incredible running gear.

Testers must be 18+ years old and live in the US.

22. Nike

Nike regularly mails out new products, like shoes and apparel, to their product testers.

All you need to do is apply to become a tester, and when you’re selected, you’ll start receiving free stuff in the mail. You’ll be tasked to answer a few questions regarding the products you receive after a few days of testing.

Nike requires you to return the products after you’ve finished testing so that Nike engineers can study these products for wear and tear.

Be sure to read my full guide on how to best maximize your chances at becoming a Nike product tester.

23. adidas

Continuing with our athletic gear theme, up next we have adidas.

Similar to Nike and Reebok, you’ll be testing products over the course of a few weeks and then submit your answers to a survey.

After testing has ended, you’ll be required to send the products back to adidas.

24. Johnson & Johnson

Friends & Neighbors is Johnson & Johnson’s consumer perception program that gathers opinions and ideas from real people to create new products and improve existing products.

Just to show you how big J&J is, here’s a list of brands under Johnsons & Johnsons: Neutrogena, Aveeno, BeBe, Clean & Clear, Listerine, Band-Aid, and a whole lot more.

Imagine how many J&J products you can get if you become a part of its JJ Friends & Neighbors program.

Register on their website and wait for emailed invitations to participate in one of their studies. These studies can be product testing, surveys, discussion groups, and focus groups.

You may even get to test J&J products before launch. Plus, you are paid with Prepaid Visa Gift Cards after finishing the review.

25. McCormick & Company, Inc.

Apply to become a McCormick panelist and get a chance to receive emails about various product testing opportunities.

Get paid to test food products such as seasonings, spices, and other McCormick products.

Most of the home-based testing can take you around an hour to complete and pay $10 to $15 worth of Amazon gift cards. In some studies, you may even get paid up to $30 per hour.

26. Marie Claire

Love cosmetics? Join the Marie Claire Beauty Drawer and be first to try free makeup like mascara and lipstick, as well as other products like handbags.

Beauty Drawer members are also given exclusive access to special offers, insider events, sweepstakes, and more.

27. L’Oreal

Here’s another chance to receive and test cosmetics, skincare, haircare, and hair color products.

Get paid to test L’Oreal products as well as products from their other brands like Maybelline, Lancôme, IT Cosmetics, Kiehl’s, Cerave, Urban Decay, Garnier, Essie, Biolage, Kerastase, and many more.

28. Summer Infant

Summer Infant produces a wide range of products for moms-to-be and families with children aged 0-3.

You can sign up to become a product tester, participate in focus groups, take surveys, or baby photoshoots. You get to pick and choose what you want to do.

29. Philips

Philips makes products for every room in your house. You no doubt have a few Philips products at home already.

When the test is done, you get to keep whatever Philips sent.

30. Red Robin

Red Robin has a specific panel for taste testers and focus groups. You’ll get to try new menu items before they hit the stores.

You are basically getting paid to eat burgers. Tests run for approximately one hour.

31. Allure

Cosmetic giant Allure is welcoming all beauty enthusiasts to join their testing program.

Their only requirements are that you’re based in the US. If you meet that, you can get new products and samples sent right to you.

32. Roku

Roku offers streaming players as well as TVs and audio equipment, consolidating popular streaming options like Netflix, Hulu, Amazon Prime, HBO Max, Disney+, and others into a single device.

They are looking for beta testers who will get paid to test new products, services, and software updates to give detailed feedback.

Apply on their site and if you get accepted, you’ll be asked to sign an NDA.

33. Microsoft

Microsoft and its products don’t need any introduction.

And they’re looking for product testers of all ages (of course, minors need to have their parent’s or guardian’s permission) to join their user research program to test new technology, software, and hardware.

34. InStyle Trendsetters

InStyle is an online fashion magazine that covers basically anything trending.

They are seeking “Trendsetters” to test out some of their latest products ranging from beauty to fashion to home décor.

The have a prize pool of $4,000 that is split among winners. Every time you try something new, you gain an entry into the pool.

35. TEMU

TEMU invites product testers to evaluate a diverse range, including electronics, home goods, beauty products, toys, and more.

To apply, visit their Product Tester Page, complete the application, undergo an entry assessment, and await review.

If accepted, proceed with test orders for final confirmation.

While TEMU Product Testers aren’t offered cash rewards, you’d have opportunities for product rebates, bonuses, referral commissions, contest prizes, and media bonuses.

Can You Work as a Product Tester Full-Time?

It’s cool that you get paid to test products as a side gig, or whenever you find something you’d like to dip your fingers into.

Even receiving not-yet-launched products can be exciting.

However, joining product testing panels does not guarantee that you’ll be chosen every time.

You also don’t know when new opportunities will come.

As such, make sure you don’t turn this into a full-time job because you’d surely be disappointed, not to mention broke.

The best thing to do about product-testing income is to consider it as extra cash for gifts during Christmas, birthdays, and other holidays (those Amazon gift cards can add up if you do this on the side for several months).

Other Testing Jobs

I’ve written other articles featuring testing gigs that you might also be interested in. Check them out below:

How I Made an Extra $1,357.56 in September 2018

Written By:Steve Wrzeszczynski

Published On: October 9, 2018

I’m trying something new here today.

I have my first ever income report to share with all of you.

This income report will cover my earnings through display advertising only (the ads you see in the content and sidebar of my site).

I do not include any income earned through any other sources, like affiliate marketing.

Affiliate marketing makes up the bulk of my income!

This income report is just what I’ve been able to add on top of what I’ve already been making!

All of this money is extra bonus money.

I’ll get to that in a second. But first…

A Summer 2018 Update

Our summer was rather quiet.

Vincent turned one back in June.

We did take a trip down to Top Sail, NC.

A Cancer Scare

Amanda was diagnosed with Stage 1 melanoma earlier this year.

Luckily, we caught it early enough that it hadn’t spread beyond the surface of her skin.

She had to undergo surgery and had complications arise that slowed the healing process.

Today, she is fully healed and back to her old self again.

To celebrate the healing, we did a spontaneous overnight trip to Niagara Falls and Niagara on the Lake.

Travelling with a baby definitely has its challenges, but it’s nothing we haven’t been able to overcome.

Other than that, I’ve mostly spent my summer working on the site, improving functionality, and trying to increase earnings.

Getting Into Display Advertising

After 11 years of running I’ve Tried That, this will be my first ever income report here.

I’ve shied away from them for two reasons:

1. It’s a bit intrusive blogging about how much money you make
2. I don’t like showing off

So why start now?

I recently started getting into display advertising. After being nudged along by Dom at HumanProofDesigns, Nate at OneMoreCupofCoffee, and Eddy at WorkatHomeNoScams, I took the plunge in July and added ads to the site.

I was hesitant as ads can be intrusive and ruin the user experience just for the sake of getting a little extra revenue each month.

I decided I wanted to test it out over a 3 month time span and see what kind of money I’d make and if it would have any effect on how people use my site.

I applied at Mediavine, was promptly accepted, and started running ads all within a few days.

Effects on User Experience

This is the biggest area of concern for me.

I wanted to use ads, but not in a way that impacted how people browsed my site.

In the end, I found that display ads had little to no effect on my sites metrics.

For comparison, here are some metrics from the first 5 months of this year compared to the entirety of last month.

On the left, before ads. On the right, after ads.

As you can see, there was very little change in how people used my site.

Yes, there was a drop in return visits and multiple pages viewed and an increase in bounce rate, but the difference is so negligible that I do not consider it significant.

I also have received zero user complaints since turning ads on.

Effects on Page Speed

I’m a bit obsessive when it comes to page load times.

Page speed has been a part of Google’s algorithm for a while now and I’ve made it a priority to make sure my site loads as fast as possible.

Ads have definitely had a negative impact on how quickly my site loads.

Page Load Times with Ads – GTmetrix

Page Load Times without Ads – GTmetrix

Page Load Times with Ads – Pingdom

Page Load Times without Ads – Pingdom

As you can see, there’s been a drastic decline in page load times.

From a personal stand point, I haven’t noticed that much of a slow down.

Yes, it takes my site longer to FULLY load, but the initial load is as fast as it’s ever been. The site loads quick and you can begin to browse without issue before everything is fully loaded.

One reassuring factor is that Mediavine is obsessed with page speed times as well.

Mediavine wants my site to load fast.

They share a percentage of my income. The more money I make, the more money they make.

Effects on My Rankings

Google Search Console only lets me go back 90 days.

Ads would have been turned on near the start of this chart.

Adding ads to my site has had no impact on my rankings.

Since Google limits how far back we can see, I pulled up my charts in SEMrush as well.

Here is SEMrush’s approximations in terms of traffic…

And the keywords that I am currently ranked for.

Again, nothing but growth.

In fact, traffic has been the highest it’s been in the past year!

My efforts to grow the site and a renewed focus on proper keyword research and SEO are the cause of my growth.

In conclusion, ads have had no negative impact on my rankings.

Earnings Report: $1,358.30 in September 2018

Since this is my first ever income report that shows only income earned from display advertising, I will include the first 3 months of my earnings in this report.

I joined Mediavine on July 12th.

This explains why my July was entirely unremarkable.

By July 31st, I had made $513.06.

I also joined during the third quarter of the year, which is when advertisers historically spend the least amount of money.

Everything was working against me in July. I had an average $14 RPM (RPM stands for Rate Per Thousand, meaning how much money you make per 1,000 page loads on your site) with a daily high of $16.91.

Like I said, unremarkable.

I was initially discouraged, but after speaking with Mediavine (their customer support is FANTASTIC by the way) they assured me it was common to see low numbers in the first 3 months. They will be testing different things to find the optimal ads to pull in the most amount of money.

I powered through and then we hit August.

I finished August with $1,102.21 and a daily average of $15.71 RPM.

I had a daily high of $19.42 RPM.

A nice improvement over July, but still a little bit short of where I want to be.

My site did see a nice boost in traffic as well. I have recently started to pay more attention to the content I’m publishing and going back and updating & optimizing old articles as well.

My new strategies, combined with Google’s August update, has boosted both my traffic and earnings.

Finally, this brings us to September.

September has brought in my best month yet with $1,357.56 in total earnings and a daily average of $19.73 RPM.

I also hit a RPM high of $24.60 and a total daily earnings high of $64.24.

While this is closer to where I want to be, I’m still a few dollars short of my goals.

The Mythical Q4

The start of October brings around Q4, the time of year where advertisers vastly increase their budgets.

Everyone is gearing up for Black Friday and Christmas and I’ve been told to expect my earnings to absolutely explode over the next few months.

We shall see and I’ll be sure to keep you all updated.

My Goals

Here are a few goals I have set for myself:

Average Monthly RPM: $25.00 (Best so far: $19.73)
Daily RPM High: $30.00 (Best so far: $25.60)
Average Daily Earnings: $50.00 (Best so far: $45.25)
Daily Earning High: $100.00 (Best so far: $65.24)

And these are big milestones I’d like to hit:

Single Daily Visitors: 4,000, 5,000, 7,500, & 10,000.
Monthly Earnings: $1,500, $2,500, $5,000, & $7,500.
Monthly RPM: $20, $25, & $30

I will revisit these goals and milestones with every new income report.

My Plan to Hit These Goals

First and foremost, I plan to increase visitors to my site by continually adding new content in the form of articles to my site.

I am also going back through old articles that have dipped in the rankings to better optimize them and get them higher up.

That will work on increasing visitors and earnings, but will have very little effect on RPM.

RPM is improved by getting people to stay on my site longer. I have been going through my top ranked posts and writing better headlines, more compelling text in the introduction to capture attention better, and have been lengthening the content.

As you may have noticed on this post, my paragraphs are at most 3 lines long.

This helps keep people on the site longer. This article is nearly 2,000 words long, but the short sentences makes it easy to read.

Longer time spent on site + more ads via longer content = higher RPM.

Resources I Recommend

1. Mediavine

Obviously.

They’re the entire reason I’ve been able to add over $1,000 to my earnings each month.

I first started making money online back in 2005 through Google Adsense.

Display advertising was the reason why I got into this business.

I like that all I have to do is write content and get people to visit my site.

I don’t have to sell anything, link to anything, buy anything, convince anyone of anything.

I write. People visit. I get paid.

If you run a blog and have over 25k visitors per month, you need to sign up for Mediavine ASAP.

2. SEMrush

(If you sign-up for SEMRush using this link, you’ll get 14 days to try out the Pro account absolutely free!)

I credit SEMrush for helping me get my site back on track.

My traffic was in a free fall at the beginning of this year.

The tools at SEMrush helped me identify and correct a number of glaring issues with my site via the Site Audit tool.

They sent their crawlers and found thousands of errors that I had overlooked, including some of the worst possible SEO mistakes you could make.

If it wasn’t for their Site Audit, I firmly believe my site would have very few Google rankings today.

On top of that, their keyword research tools are incredible. The keywords they’ve been able to find, combined with my own personal SEO strategies, have helped propel my site back up the rankings.

Traffic continues to grow and that’s all thanks to SEMrush.

3. Wealthy Affiliate

Wealthy Affiliate is where I really got my start online.

Their completely free membership can’t be beat.

If you have an interest in making money running a website, they’ll provide you with all the tools and training you could possibly need.

You can have your own website up and running at the click of a button in 30 seconds or less.

Best of all, you can become a member there at absolutely no cost to you.

Highly recommended!

Can I help you out?

I’ve been tossing around the idea of teaching the strategies that I have personally developed to launch and grow a successful website.

It doesn’t take much to make an income online these days.

It really comes down to identifying what people are searching for online and writing content to match their expectations.

That’s it.

With tools like SEMrush and Wealthy Affiliate, the only thing you really need to do is know how to write compelling content.

That’s what I do best and want to be able to teach others.

Would you have any interest in learning from me?

Sound off in the comment below.

20 Ways to Land Paid House Sitting Jobs

Written By:Steve Wrzeszczynski

Last Updated:November 9, 2023

Paid house sitting jobs may seem like a fairy tale.

Imagine living in mansion-like homes all by yourself for weeks or months.

You get to enjoy marvelous bathtubs, fluffy beds, and all the amenities of a home on the beach, in vineyards, near sugar plantations, and other exotic locations.

Plus, you get paid while enjoying free luxury accommodation not just locally, but around the world as well.

Okay, now snap back to reality.

While the chances of living in a mansion and getting paid to be there are quite slim, many people are discovering that paid house sitting jobs can open up doors for them to travel and explore one city or country for extended periods.

Read on to learn all about house sitting, or scroll further down to find the best sites to look for paid house sitting jobs.

What Is House Sitting?

As the name suggests, house sitting is the practice of entrusting one’s home to one or more “house sitters” who are allowed to stay in the property for as long as the owner requires.

House sitting is a win-win for both the homeowners and the house sitter.

Homeowners prefer hiring professional house sitters mainly because of their pets. They’d like to leave their pets at home but the cost of pet care in vets, kennels, or pet hotels can be costly. House sitting is a more economical alternative.

Aside from their pets, homeowners want to ensure their homes are secure by having someone physically there. Home alarm systems aren’t exactly deterrents if burglars discover that there’s no one in the house alerted by these alarms.

Yet another reason to get a house sitter is so that the household is maintained even when homeowners are away. Going home to a dirty, unkempt house after a long time away can be a huge downer.

As for the house sitter, traveling in another city or country or living nomadically can cost less because they save money on accommodations. House sitters can also experience “living like a local” while working a legitimate job.

What Does a House Sitting Job Involve?

The tasks of a house sitter vary depending on the homeowner’s needs.

Some hosts just need general house maintenance, while others require their pets to be taken care of.

Generally, paid house sitting jobs involve:

Occupying the house. Insurance companies in countries like the UK reject claims if homeowners leave their houses vacant for over 30 days. However, if house sitters are occupying the house when a break-in occurs, homeowners have a chance to make an insurance claim.
Taking care of pets. If agreed with the homeowner, house sitters may also be tasked to take care of pets. This includes day-to-day pet care like walking the dog, providing food and water, scooping poop/cleaning litter box, and even taking them to the vet when necessary.
- Note that pet-sitting is usually an add-on service, so negotiate with your clients for extra fees if you’re open to taking care of cats, dogs, or other pets.
Taking care of plants. Homes with either an indoor or outdoor garden may require help watering and pruning plants, mowing lawns, and so on. In some cases, pool cleaning may be included in the job description as well.
Basic housekeeping. The house sitter doesn’t necessarily have to scrub the home from top to bottom the whole time they stay in it. However, they are expected to tidy up the rooms, do the dishes, and wash and change the beddings they use.
Other duties. Organizing mail, forwarding phone messages, overseeing home repairs, and other similar duties may also be assigned to the house sitter.

Although tasks could change from one client to the next, house sitters are generally aware of what their duties will be even before they apply to the position.

Non-paid and Paid House Sitting Jobs

In your search for house sitting jobs, you’ll encounter two kinds of opportunities:

1. Non-paid house sitting jobs

In this case, you get free accommodation in exchange for taking care of the house.

Some homeowners ask the sitter to pay half or all of the utilities while staying at the house.

Others even require sitters to pay a deposit to cover any damages or losses during the house sitter’s stay.

2. Paid house sitting jobs

This is the opportunity most people want.

If you’re given a small apartment at the back of a mansion with all bills covered plus an allowance to boot, why wouldn’t you grab it?

I know I would.

Some homeowners even look for a “couple sitter.” If you and a loved one are on a nomad path and would be up for paid house sitting jobs, this kind of opportunity is priceless.

How Much Can You Earn House Sitting?

In the U.S., the average annual salary of house sitters is around $29,062 (Source: Salary.com), with the lower end at around $22k and the higher end at around $38k.

The biggest factor that dictates house sitter salary is the amount of time required to care for the house. Does the sitter have to be at home just a few hours each day, or 24/7 until the homeowners get back?

The good thing about paid house sitting jobs is that they continue to be highly negotiable between the owner and the sitter.

20 Places to Find Paid House Sitting Jobs

House sitting jobs listed online do not often display the salaries, but if you’re a traveler or follow a nomadic lifestyle, free accommodation can be very well be considered as an “income.”

Here are the most popular websites that list paid house sitting jobs.

1. TrustedHousesitters

If you look at just one website in this list, make it TrustedHousesitters, especially if you love pets. You will be trading care of animals for free accommodations all around the world.

They have the most extensive list of house sitting opportunities here, with listings in such cities as London, New York, Los Angeles, Vancouver, Sydney, Melbourne, and many more major cities.

To find house sitting jobs, you’ll have to purchase a yearly membership, which starts at $129. Note that homeowners have to purchase a yearly membership for the same price to be able to look for a house sitter.

It’s a small price to pay, seeing as a one-year membership to the site is cheaper than a single night in a hotel room.

Nevertheless, if you’re new to this site, I suggest creating a free account first, as that will let you see every available listing. If you don’t find one you like, at least you’re not out the fee. You can easily pay for the membership when you do find a listing you like.

Other features that TrustedHousesitters offer include a free 24/7 vet advice line and an insurance-backed guarantee that puts both homeowner and house sitter at ease.

2. MindMyHouse

MindMyHouse is a New Zealand-based site where homeowners can post their house sitting assignments and house sitters can look for an assignment that best fits them. There’s also a community area where members can swap stories and experiences.

They also have useful checklists for homeowners to tick off before they leave their houses.

A membership will cost you $20 per year, which is the lowest of all the sites here. Also, they don’t renew your membership automatically, so there aren’t any surprises on your statements.

Fewer opportunities are listed here than in TrustedHousesitters, and they’re mostly in Europe.

You can opt to find assignments that don’t require pet care, but that will severely limit your options.

3. Housecarers.com

HouseCarers prides itself on launching the first-ever worldwide house sitting membership site, launched in October 2000.

Searching through their listing offers up slightly more exotic locations in places like Bali, Costa Rica, Catalonia, etc. Around 80% of these listings require pet care.

You can browse the site for paid house sitter assignments with a limited, unpaid membership, but to apply for these assignments, you’ll have to upgrade to a full, paid membership, which is $50 annually.

4. Nomador

This is an impressive resource if you’re looking for international paid house sitting jobs.

They have a free membership option, which allows you to browse all the available assignments. Their paid membership option costs $99 per year (or $42 per quarter), allowing you to apply to as many assignments as you want, as well as a bunch of other perks.

5. House Sitters America

This house and pet sitting website requires a membership fee of $49 per year and is limited to paid house sitting jobs in the US only.

Most of the jobs here involve a straight swap; that is, taking care of the house in exchange for free accommodation.

As with most other websites in this list, browsing through the available house sitting jobs is free, but to actually apply for them requires a paid membership.

6. HouseSit Match

UK-based HouseSit Match primarily has listings in the UK, as well as some in Australia, Canada, Europe, and a few in the US.

You can join as a standard member, which allows you to browse the listings for house sitters and chat with homeowners. Premium members get more customer support and more visibility to home owners.

A standard membership costs £69 per year, while a premium membership costs £89 per year. These are a bit steep compared to others on this list, but consider this a chance to go to Europe and not pay for a hotel.

7. The Caretaker Gazette

The Caretaker Gazette is an old-school, literal, tangible newsletter that lists property caretaking and house sitting jobs. They have been publishing since 1983.

You have the option of only subscribing to their online edition, which contains the exact same information as the print edition. Online subscription costs $29.95 per year, $49.95 for two years, or $69.95 for three years.

Honestly, it’s only listed here because it does offer paid house sitting jobs, but your money is better spent at any of the other resources.

8. HouseSitter.com

HouseSitter.com lists paid house sitting jobs from homeowners looking for house sitters, pet sitters, or both.

They pride themselves on their TELESAFE calling system, which ensures everyone’s privacy by hiding all phone numbers when sending and receiving calls as well as tracking and reviewing all your conversations.

Basic membership is free, allowing you to look at listings for free. But if you want to make and receive calls from homeowners via TELESAFE and have your profile be more visible in the directory, you have to upgrade to a paid membership, which will cost you $26.40 monthly, $69.30 quarterly, or $90 yearly.

9. Pawshake

Pawshake is geared more toward pet sitting, as the name suggests. But they also accept house sitters, especially for pets who prefer to stay in familiar surroundings.

They pride themselves on vetting their sitters, accepting only around 15% of applicants, so make sure your profile stands out (more on this below).

Pawshake is available in 20 countries outside of the US, including Canada, Australia, and other countries in Europe and even Asia. So if the goal is to travel internationally, this site may be your best bet.

You can set your own rates, and they do have a handy guide for setting them so you don’t set it too high or too low. They don’t charge membership fees, but they do take out 19% of your pay, so keep that in mind when you set your rates.

10. SabbaticalHomes

SabbaticalHomes targets academics who own houses and can offer temporary accommodations for tenants. Thus, they’re more focused on finding paying tenants for homeowners.

This is understandable, as most of the paid house sitting jobs are for extended stays; that is, one month or more.

However, if you offer house sitting services as a tenant, you may get a discount on rental fees or even get to stay for free, depending on your agreement with the homeowner.

Listing fees are $20 per year for tenants, but if you do find a match, both you and the homeowner pay $50 each.

INTERNATIONAL PAID HOUSE SITTING JOBS

11. The House Sitting Company (New Zealand, UK, Europe, etc.)

The House Sitting Company offers house and pet sitting services in the UK, Europe, and beyond.

Luxury House Sitting: Luxury House Sitting specializes in high-end house and pet sitting opportunities in various locations.
House and Home Sitters: House and Home Sitters connects homeowners and sitters across the United States.
SabbaticalHomes: While primarily for academic housing exchanges, SabbaticalHomes also offers house and pet sitting opportunities.

12. Aussie House Sitters (Australia)

This platform is for house and pet sitting opportunities in Australia.

Since 2004, Aussie House Sitters has been a trusted community for house-sitters and house owners.

In return for free accommodation, house sitters look after the pets, home and garden while the home owner is away.

This set-up is a win-win, not only are the pets safe and home secure, the house-sitters stay without charge.

13. House Sitters Canada (Canada)

Anyone in Canada finding a house or renting your house out should check this site out.

What makes this site awesome for house-sitters and house renters is that dog-sitting and pet-sitting can also be involved in the deal. Got a chicken? horse? farm that needs sitting? House Sitters Canada is also open to any kind of farm-animal-sitting.

Plus, there’s no fee to place a job ad on this family-run company.

14. Happy House Sitters (Australia)

Going on holiday and need a trustworthy sitter to look after your pets, home and garden across Australia?

Happy House Sitters has been connecting caring sitters to happy homeowners since 1999. The company verifies ID of house-sitters and give homeowners daily alerts.

15. House Sitters UK (United Kingdom)

This is the largest house and pet-sitting site for those in the United Kingdom.

Joining is free for homeowners, but house-sitters have to shoulder £29 membership fee (good for
12 months). If you’re second-guessing the fee, you can still join and check out the listings first to make an informed decision.

16. PetCloud (Australia)

PetCloud’s national network of home-based Pet Sitters as a kind and caring alternative to kennel boarding facilities.

The site was built specifically so that furry parents can travel and leave their pets behind safely. Pets are photographed daily, then sent to the house owner.

PetCloud even has liability insurance of up to 10M covered.

17. HouseSit Mexico (Mexico)

Whether you have a home in Mexico or you’d like to house sit in Mexico, HouseSitMexico.com is the place to find what you need.

House-sitters sit for free in exchange for a free place to stay (and travel around Mexico).

Mexico-based homeowners or renters can pick the sitters they want. This affords them freedom and flexibility to travel, while leaving their pets in good hands.

18. Mindahome (Australia)

With the growing demand for safe and suitable house sitters, Mindahome connects homeowners and house sitters in Australia, the United Kingdom and other countries.

19. Kiwi House Sitters (New Zealand)

Kiwi House Sitters offers house and pet sitting services in New Zealand.

20. The House Sitters (Australia)

The House Sitters, Australia’s original and best house sitting company has been around since 1993.

House-sitters pay the site $60 for an annual membership, which includes free ID checks for all adults in your family.

This membership fee comes with unlimited listing and messaging to house owners. As one of the first sites in Australia, The House Sitters has a simplified system that connects house sitters with homeowners seamlessly.

How to Land Paid House Sitting Jobs

A good house sitter is reliable, responsible, responsive, and has a passion for what they do.

If possible, learn home maintenance skills, such as basic plumbing, gardening, and so on. These skills will be very handy in cases of leaking sinks and other issues that could occur while you’re house sitting.

Know that this industry is fierce, so you’ll have plenty of competition. You have to present your house sitter profile the best way possible, and if you’ve already completed house sitting jobs in the past, be sure to file your testimonials to build an impressive client portfolio.

To get an edge over your competition, learn to do these things:

Create an eye-catching profile — All the sites above would require you to create a profile. Make yours next-level impressive to catch the eye of homeowners and entice them to contact you first.
Personalize — In case you do have to contact homeowners to apply, don’t just send the same message to everyone. Instantly create a connection by personalizing your email or message to each and every homeowner you reach out to. Talk about details within their listing that you relate to and call their pets by name.
Convey flexibility — You won’t be able to control everything about the job, so you should be able to go with the flow, fix issues if you are faced with them. When doing the interview, give examples of how you’d be able to adapt to various situations beyond your control.
Communicate effectively — Whether you’re sending an e-mail to the homeowner, or facing them during a Skype interview, communicating effectively can definitely land you the job.
Place their needs first — Emphasize how you can meet their specific needs and requests. Remember, it’s always about fulfilling their needs first.
Document your references and testimonials — Prove you’re worthy of the job. Word of mouth is still the best way to promote your house sitting services, so document all your past clients, ask for testimonials, or just simply let your past performance do the talking.
Ask questions — Confirm everything before signing up for the job. You’d have to be 100% committed to the task, so if you’re not sure about something, ask the homeowner about it beforehand. You’d be surprised how asking questions would reflect positively on you.

How to Keep Landing Paid House Sitting Jobs

As I’ve mentioned, word of mouth is the best way to promote your house sitting services, so you need to make sure that you constantly make a good impression on each and every homeowner you work with.

That way, not only will you increase the chances that you’re rehired by the same homeowners should they need your services again; you also increase the chances that they’ll put in a good word for you when their family and friends need a house sitter.

So how do you make a lasting impression as a house sitter?

Be punctual — Don’t turn up too early and especially don’t be late when you show up at their house. Too early and you might disrupt their routine; too late and they’ll think you’re unreliable.
Bear gifts — It doesn’t have to be expensive, but it does need to be thoughtful. Local food or drink specialty from your home city or region, a small hand-crafted souvenir, or something they can use while they travel will do.
Be respectful of their home and pets — Whether you’re going to stay for a weekend or a year, make sure that when your hosts come home, they’ll feel right at home. That is, hand back their house and their pets exactly as they left them, if not in better condition.
Never invite anyone else — On that note, remember that you are not in your own home, and you should never let strangers inside someone else’s house. In addition, never let visitors in even if they tell you they know the homeowners. Always ask first.
Be responsive — When homeowners call or message you asking for updates, always be available to reply to them or call them back as soon as you can. The reason they hired you is to have peace of mind, and every second you don’t reply is a second they don’t have that.

Paid House Sitting and You

If you’re already earning money while traveling, complementing your journey with house sitting makes total sense.

Despite improvements in smart home technology, homeowners still prefer actual humans to take care of their houses when they go on a trip.

Add the cost of leaving pets behind at the vet and there will always be a demand for house sitting jobs.

Etsy vs. eBay: Which Platform is Best for Sellers?

Written By:Steve Wrzeszczynski

Last Updated:September 27, 2018

If you’re trying to be an online seller and is on a mission to decide between Etsy vs. eBay as a marketplace to focus your efforts on, you’re on the right path.

Many sellers skip this step, jumping head first into an environment they’re not really familiar with.

The problem occurs when they find out later in the game that the marketplace they chose isn’t really compatible with the niche of their items for sale or the type of audience active in that platform.

If you want to reap the most benefits in terms of sales and market reach, which marketplace do you choose?

Read on for a comprehensive comparison of Etsy vs. eBay from a seller’s perspective…

Etsy vs. eBay Target Market

Etsy and eBay are very different marketplaces.

If you already have an idea of what you’re going to sell, choosing between Etsy vs. eBay is easy.

Etsy is home to many creative people who sell their handmade items on the platform.

The website encourages made-to-order and customization of items, but do not allow second-hand items.

As such, the buyers you see at Etsy are expecting to find unique items, supplies for arts and crafts, or vintage items (that are over 20 years or older).

On the other hand, eBay is a monster when it comes to online selling.

You can list any kind of item there, as long as it isn’t illegal. Sellers who are planning to sell a wide range of items can do so without question.

Etsy vs. eBay Seller’s Fees

I understand why listing cost is a concern for you.

Fees will affect your business, even if it involves only cents per listing. These fees add up real quick, especially if you’re selling in bulk.

Etsy follows a simple seller’s fee:

No joining/membership fee (start a store right away FREE)
Pay Etsy $0.20 for every listing you post. It can stay online up to 4 months or once you sell the item. You’d have to pay another $0.20 if you’re going to re-list the item.
Pay Etsy 3.5% of the item’s price if someone buys the item.

eBay has a bit more fees than Etsy. The fees also vary if you’re just an individual selling items on eBay, or if you decide to open an eBay store.

Membership fee for personal-use eBay is free, while an eBay store has a flat-fee depending on the type of plan you choose.
eBay gets $0.20 for every item listed. It is valid for 30 days.
Final value fees (transaction fee per listing) also vary with each category, but it ranges from 8% to 15% of the sale price.
eBay also gets a cut on the amount you charge customers for shipping.

eBay stores do have some benefits over personal-use eBay, such as free listings monthly and zero transaction fees, among others.

If possible, don’t stick to only fees when choosing the marketplace to build on.

Check out the pros and cons of Etsy, as well as the pros and cons of eBay to get a deeper understanding of how each platform could be the right or wrong one for your business.

Pros and Cons of Etsy

Etsy is home to over 40 million active members.

It is definitely a lot smaller than eBay in terms of membership size, but this is one of the things that make Etsy special.

Niche audience

The best thing about Etsy is that the people who visit this website are divided into two groups

those who explores the listings in hope of finding something special, and
those who know exactly what they need (supplies for jewelry making, or sewing patterns, etc.)

The buyers at Etsy are not looking for mass-produced stuff. They know that the marketplace features thousands of artsy, creative people from glass-blowing artists, painters, pottery masters, and so on.

User-friendly set-up

If this is the first time you’ve joined an online marketplace, Etsy won’t make you feel like a total beginner.

Instead, you can quickly set-up your listing, payment options, shipping details, and other store elements without CSS or coding knowledge.

A community of helpful folk

Etsy has a reliable customer support.

Plus, the site also has an active forum, where many sellers and buyers alike hang out.

Selling on Etsy Cons

The main reason why people get turned off by Etsy is that it still adds two kinds of fees on every listing (listing charge and finale sale fee).

Unfortunately, there’s no going around these fees.

Branding and standing out on Etsy can be hard when you’re starting out. This is because the listings look exactly the same – there are no customization options available.

The only way to get a bit of an edge over your competition is to take gorgeous product photos and produce eye-catchy graphic design.

Pros and Cons of eBay

eBay is the largest online buy-and-sell marketplace in the world.

It is home to 25 million sellers and an outstanding 75 million buyers.

List Products Effortlessly

eBay has been around since 1995.

Imagine how many times the company has improved the method of listing products.

Even if you’re new to eBay, you can list products as quickly and easy as possible.

eBay guides you every step of the way, so there’s no way you can get lost navigating the listing manager.

Global Reach

The best thing about eBay is that it is available both locally and globally.

You can choose to sell your items only locally, or take advantage of selling products that may not be available in other countries.

As long as you follow the rules of eBay, the world can be your oyster (while sitting in the comforts of your own home).

How cool is that?

Selling on eBay Cons

eBay has a lot of attractive features, but there are 3 major things that may turn your off from selling on this platform:

1. Complicated and Expensive Fees

Fees on eBay vary from one listing to the next. The amount depends largely on the type and value of product you’re selling.

The finale sale fee can eat up most of your earnings, especially if the eBay’s cut goes higher than the average 10 to 15 percent. This is especially true for high-priced items.

2. Sold Items aren’t Paid Instantly

Buyers may have bought an item from you, but it doesn’t mean the money is transferred to you immediately.

Unfortunately, eBay has no control over how fast or slow buyers pay for the items they buy on the website.

Buyers may even fail to pay for the product you thought was already sold.

From the seller’s perspective, this can be annoying, time-consuming, and even financially-destroying.

3. Unfair Buyer Protection Policies

eBay favors the buyers over sellers all the time.

This means that if you and your buyer get into a dispute (about the item, shipping, etc.), there’s a bigger chance that eBay decides in favor of buyers, even if you’re in the right.

Unfortunately, even if eBay receives complaints about this from sellers around the world, unfair dispute results still happens.

Who Wins between Etsy vs. eBay?

Interestingly, Etsy and eBay are such opposites that I bet you’d be able to decide, even before you finish reading this comprehensive comparison.

I recommend you go with eBay if you’re planning to sell mass-produced, low-priced items that you can buy cheap and sell high.

If you’re going to sell one-of-a-kind handmade products or vintage items, Etsy is definitely the marketplace for you.

You can also sell items on both marketplaces, if you wish. But it means fees will multiple as well.

Do know that both platforms have copycats that will steal your idea, product images, and even product description word-per-word. Once a product begins selling like hotcakes, get ready for other sellers replicating your listings.

Not interested in either eBay or Etsy? Check 4 of the best ecommerce platforms you can try out.

Don’t rule out becoming an Amazon seller either.

Amazon is a household name for a reason.

A Better Alternative to eBay or Etsy

Whichever route you took between Etsy vs. eBay, it’s important to note that these third-party owned marketplaces will remain just that – owned by other companies.

As such, you don’t really have a say if eBay or Etsy decides to close shop, increase fees, or change rules that will affect your business.

I say start with eBay or Etsy, and if you’re ready to go solo, create your own website (with a store) and sell products without having to pay fees and while pocketing 100% of the profits.

You can even create exciting promos, which in turn, build customer loyalty and brand recognition.

How to Make Money on Instagram: 10 Ways to Strike it Rich

Written By:Steve Wrzeszczynski

Last Updated:February 5, 2024

Would you like to know how to make money on Instagram in 2024?

Instagram is an awesome place for looking at gorgeous pictures and shopping, but earning some kind of income through the app is my favorite reason to use it.

When Instagram launched in 2010, it was a simple photo-sharing app.

Without the noise and fluff on Facebook, Instagram was a respite, only featuring visual content.

Eventually, it expanded into a video-sharing app as well, with users initially being allowed to upload a 15-second video, which increased to 60-second videos. Then came Instagram Stories for shorter-form videos, followed by expiring content and IGTV for longer videos.

By 2020, Instagram saw over a billion active users monthly, with 500 million users daily logging in and actively engaging on the platform.

Obviously, the demand is there, and marketers, brands, and companies willing to ride the wave will be there too.

Yes, even if TikTok seemed to be growing by the day.

So how do people as young as 13-year-olds make money on Instagram?

Let me explain the tried-and-tested income-generating methods for you, and give you real-life examples and success stories for each one.

How to Make Money on Instagram: 10 Ideas to Try in 2024

Before we dive in, I just want to refute a point that you might have encountered when reading about making money on Instagram.

Don’t believe anyone who says you can make money on Instagram WITHOUT followers.

You’d need customers to buy what you’re selling—whether you’re selling an idea, information, or an actual product.

The first 5 methods below can be used by Instagram users who are just starting out, while the last 5 money-making methods are best for influencer-level users.

1. Affiliate Marketing

In traditional affiliate marketing, you’d need to set up a website and promote products on multiple platforms in hopes of getting a commission.

Affiliate marketing commissions are possible whenever one or more people click on the link you posted and buy at the third-party website. You then get a cut of the sale.

To make money on Instagram via affiliate marketing, you only need your Instagram account and accounts on various platforms like Amazon, Clickbank, Skimlinks, Shopstyle, Shopify, and others.

Probably one of the most popular affiliate marketing tools for Instagram comes from LTK (formerly rewardStyle), a members-only affiliate network with only a 10% acceptance rate.

What makes rewardStyle amazing is the invention of its LIKEtoKNOW.it app.

You can download it on Google Play Store or Apple Store.

With LIKEtoKNOW.it, followers of your Instagram account can just “like” your post and they’ll be e-mailed details of your outfit, products included in the shot your posted, and so on.

This is how LIKEtoKNOW.it works:

You post a photo on Instagram.

The photo featured a close-up of your makeup-perfect face with a pair of gorgeous earrings.

A follower likes your post.

If that follower also has LIKEtoKNOW.it installed on their phones when they liked your post, they’ll receive an email with links directing them to where they can buy the earrings and all the makeup products you used.

If this follower buys from when they clicked the link, you get paid a commission from the sale.

Imagine how much money you can earn from Instagram if you have thousands of people stalking the things you wear, use, or feature via LIKEtoKNOW.it.

2. Dropshipping

Dropshipping is similar to affiliate marketing, in that you don’t have to manufacture or buy stocks of products to sell them and make a profit from selling them.

Here is what happens with dropshipping:

Choose a product that you know people will buy.

Make a deal with a dropship supplier, such as AliExpress, that sells that product.

You promote a product on Instagram and direct it to your store.

Note that if you use Instagram Business, you can integrate it with Shopify seamlessly.

When an Instagram follower buys that product on your store, the dropship supplier will handle processing, shipping, and post-sale customer service on your behalf.

You earn either a pre-discussed flat fee or a percentage of the sale as commission.

To learn more, read this case study on Seven Kingdoms Mart and how they promoted their dropshipping business on Instagram.

3. Sell Photos

Instagram is full of fantastic photos from both beginner and professional photographers.

If you have an eye for photography or exceptional graphic design skill, you can sell your photos on Instagram.

It’s up to you if you want to sell usage rights, print them as posters, or just sell digital copies of your drawings, paintings, animations, and so on.

Forbes featured photographer Daniel Arnold’s story in 2014.

At that time, Arnold had about 22k followers and decided to put all his Instagram photos for sale on the eve of his 34th birthday. He priced a 4×6 print of any of his Instagram images for $150, even if he hasn’t really sold any of his images professionally.

24 hours after announcing the sale, he has sold $15k worth of prints and extended the sale.

Learn all about hashtags. Mastering hashtags is the secret to reaching the right audience for your products.

4. Create Masks and Filters for Instagram Stories.

Back when Instagram Stories were introduced, skeptics thought it was a mere Snapchat knockoff and wouldn’t last.

Today, over 500 million users watch or create Instagram Stories every day.

Because there’s a time limit on these stories, users who see them are highly engaged.

Businesses see this as an opportunity to engage their target audience through Instagram masks and filters.

They usually hire graphic artists to do this for them, but many brands also work with Instagram influencers who specialize in Instagram masks and filters.

You can start with Facebook’s Spark AR Studio to create masks and filters.

You can do this as a side gig, or even turn it into a full-time job.

5. Set up an Instagram Shop – Enable IG Shopping Features

Social media platforms are no longer just exclusive for “socialization.”

Social selling has been growing in the last two years.

If you have products to sell, this is great news for you since Instagram gives you native features to just turn on the ability to sell stuff directly from the platform.

Meaning, even if you have a separate website (and ecommerce store), you don’t have to make your Instagram followers go “out” of the platform in order to buy.

Plus, even those who are not your followers can find your products because of Instagram’s smart shopping tags. These tags can reach over 130 million people on the platform.

You do have to work on setting up your Instagram shop at first. From there, you have an option to post products on Stories or posts, buy ad spots (and include shopping tags), or conduct live shopping.

6. Sponsorship: Earn Money Promoting other Brand’s Products

This is the most common way to get paid for your Instagram posts.

Companies can make a deal to sponsor a few posts on your Instagram feed to market their product to your followers. In most cases, companies give an Instagram influencer control over how the sponsored post looks, feels and sounds like.

Sponsorship can be pitched by the Instagram influencer, or submitted by companies.

You can actively search for brands with the help of tools like TapInfluence or Ifluenz.

The important thing is you disclose to your followers that a post is sponsored and follow FTC guidelines.

Shelcy Joseph began her personal fashion/lifestyle blogging with her sister on Instagram and YouTube around August 2014. By 2017, she was earning between $75 and $100 per sponsored post. Imagine how much she’s been taking home by now.

7. Become a Brand Ambassador

Ambassadorship is a bit more long-term than sponsorship.

Depending on the company you talk to, this deal can go as long as several months to over a year.

The following three websites are all looking for influencers/ambassadors to help shape their future products:

I highly recommend signing up will all three to increase your chances of actually making money as an influencer.

As a brand ambassador, the company sees you as someone who is in line with their values, products, and future.

Coca-Cola’s #ThisOnesFor Instagram Campaign is a great example of this. The cola giant enlisted the help of 14 Instagram influencers to create over 20 posts in a span of several months.

Earnings as a brand ambassador can be per-post or per-campaign. It can be a mix of photos, videos, and other types of media too.

Join an Instagram influencer community like Shoutcart, Tribe Group (Australia-based), and Popular Pays (among others) to find brands willing to hire you as ambassador.

Read my full guide on how to become a brand ambassador for step-by-step instructions on how to get started.

8. Promote Your Own Products or Services

You can mix the brick-and-mortar retail business with the modern magic of Instagram by selling your own products and promoting them online.

If you have thousands upon thousands of followers who just can’t get enough of what you’re selling, then you can get paid for Instagram posts through product sales.

There are a ton of “slime famous” Instagrammers out there, but you can’t look away from the creations of Nicolette Waltzer, whose Glitter Slimes Instagram account gained 2 million followers.

The New York-based, DIY slime creator began sharing mesmerizing slime videos in 2016. She then eventually began selling her creations, leading to about $500 sales from slime each week.

Waltzer now sells her slime on her own online store and sells out every time she uploads new slime variants.

9. Teach Others Instagram Marketing

Many people make money on Instagram not by selling products, but by providing useful information. Long-term experience as an influencer is a must.

Your Instagram feed can be your résumé as proof of your marketing prowess and communication skills.

As a travel blogger like Veera Papinoja, a huge chunk of her Instagram income comes from consulting for companies and other organizations. She makes around €500 to €2,000 every month to maintain Instagram accounts of other companies.

Veera also does training and lectures about successful Instagram marketing on the side. She takes home somewhere between €500 and €10,000 a month from these side gigs.

10. Earn from Instagram Badges and Subscriptions

There are two ways you can earn money directly from Instagram without selling anything.

Instagram Live Badges – “Badges” are like tips that your followers send your way if they love the content you share during a livestream. Badges are icons people buy in increments of 99c, $1.99 and $4.99, then give away to whoever they like on Instagram (this could be you!).
Paid subscriptions – If you offer valuable content on Instagram and have a solid following, you can definitely monetize your account by offering paid subscriptions. This is like a VIP section where members who pay can see your extra content. The subscription program is open to US creators only though. Plus, you should have over 10k subscribers. A good alternative to this is using third-party subscription tools like Patreon or Substack.

How to Become an Instagram Influencer

Out of all the social media platforms today, Instagram has the highest engagement rate.

Companies know this and have included Instagram into their marketing efforts.

And why shouldn’t they?

If you have at least 2,000 to 15,000 followers, fall under a trusted niche, create eye-catching content, and have a loyal audience who trusts your judgment, here are the steps to take to become a full-time Instagram influencer:

So, how do you cash in on the opportunity to make money (and more) as an Instagram influencer?

1. Grow (the quality of) your Instagram following.

Companies have gotten pickier about the caliber of Instagram influencers they’re willing to work with.

It’s not unheard of for current brand requirements to include a minimum of 100K followers and/or 1K likes per post.

Before you get discouraged, consider that many brands are also looking for a certain type of audience, regardless of the actual number of followers.

For example, if you have only 1,000 followers, but they are top-level hospital health professionals, then a company like Johnson & Johnson might be very interested in talking with you.

In light of this information, you should consider cultivating your audience to reflect a specific interest, such as beauty, travel, health, etc.

Post photos that cater to just one or two subject areas and follow influencers who do likewise.

If you repost, like, or comment on their photos, those influencers are likely going to do the same for you.

Their followers may then notice you, and then you’ll get more followers that are interested and engaged in your content.

2. Create example campaigns.

Just as you would do an unpaid internship at a company you were hoping to get hired for, you could create example campaigns on Instagram to showcase your social media talents.

Consider generating a series of photos around something that interests you, such as healthy eating.

Then, follow businesses that are also focused on this topic.

You can learn which businesses are into healthy eating by doing a hashtag search using Instagram’s search bar. Instagram will then provide you with content that uses that hashtag.

As you post your photos, use the hashtags that your targeted businesses and audiences are using.

3. Complete your profile.

Businesses and companies can’t contact you if they don’t know who you are.

Be sure to complete your Instagram profile and add your name, a phone number, a web address, Facebook page URL, etc.

You may wish to add some information about your geographic location too, especially if you are generating content about travel.

Use your Instagram profile as a mini-résumé and list your experience in the topic of your interest.

Maybe you’ve been in the food business for a few years and that’s why you started a healthy eating-themed Instagram account. Or maybe you’ve been running marathons and are trying to incorporate better eating habits into your active lifestyle.

4. Reach out to marketing agencies.

To increase your chances of being selected as an influencer, you should sign up with as many social media marketing agencies as you can find.

A good selection of these agencies focus on Instagram; two examples include Instabrand and Hashmeta.

Why should you partner up with marketing agencies?

Because some companies, especially big companies, will not bother to manually research, contact, and negotiate with individual influencers.

They either don’t have the time or would rather expedite the process using third-party mediators who can choose appropriate influencers.

Having said that…

5. Reach out to individual companies and businesses.

Smaller companies and businesses typically do not have the budget to work with agencies.

That doesn’t mean that they don’t have the budget to work with individuals, however, and this is one of the best chances you have at seeing how to make money on Instagram.

Consider reaching out to smaller operations with a proposal package that includes a set number of Instagram promoted posts, blog posts, and comments on fellow influencer sites.

You might easily score a work contract for several hundred dollars compared with three times that amount for a standard agency’s deal—as noted by this business owner’s comment on Ecommerce University:

6. Keep track of your followers.

As you grow your audience and followers, keep tabs on who these followers represent.

Companies will first follow you to learn about how popular you are and how relevant your content is to their goals.

Only after learning these facts will those businesses reach out to you.

So, if you know ahead of time who they are, you can channel your energies on specific products, trends, etc. that they are also focused on.

Making Money on Instagram still Possible in 2024?

Anyone can join, become an influencer, and make money on Instagram.

You don’t even have to follow the footsteps of the Kardashians when it comes to the number of your followers, or look like a Victoria’s Secret model to get paid for Instagram posts.

Brands and marketers prefer to work with micro-influencers (those with less than 10k followers) instead of macro-influencers (celebrities/famous people with over 10k followers) because followers of micro-influencers trust their recommendations more.

Even regular people like me and you can take Instagram for a spin and try your luck earning life-changing cash with the platform.

Did you know Instagram isn’t the only social media platform you can use to earn insane amounts of money?

If you’d rather try out other platforms instead, here are my guides for others:

Get Paid to Sleep: 7 Legit Opportunities to Consider

Written By:Steve Wrzeszczynski

Last Updated:February 5, 2024

Imagine getting paid to sleep. Isn’t this the dream? (Hah! Couldn’t resist.)

Believe it or not, there truly are ways to make money while sleeping.

Opportunities may be rare, but they’re out there.

Interested?

Read on to learn all you need to know to make money in your sleep.

1. Get Paid to Sleep by Participating in Sleep Studies

What are sleep studies?

Getting involved in paid sleep studies is the best way to make money in your sleep.

Well, why are researchers conducting sleep studies in the first place?

Well, the majority of these sleep studies help develop and discover treatment options for sleep-related problems.

Mattress companies, health app developers, wearable fitness tracker manufacturers, and the like have studied and tracked people’s sleep habits in the past.

Hospitals even have entire departments dedicated to figuring out how to tackle sleep problems.

What’s cool is that these studies are currently being conducted in places all over the country.

And you might get hired even if you don’t have sleep apnea, insomnia, narcolepsy, periodic limb movement disorder (PLMD), or other sleep-related problems.

To get paid to join sleep studies, you first need to check if there are available trials locally (we list the sites further down this section).

Sleep studies look for volunteers within a specific age range, weight, or sometimes gender.
In some cases, you should also have sleep apnea or other specific medical requirements to participate in the study.

Carefully read the criteria of each sleep study listed and make sure you’re eligible. Don’t even consider making up a sleep disorder or faking sleep difficulties just to get paid to sleep.

Learn what you’re signing up for before you fill out and send an application. Read up on the duration of in-hospital stays, payment terms, and other details.

Where to find sleep studies

Many sleep studies fall under paid clinical studies.

Here are a few websites and resources where you can search for sleep studies to participate in.

ClinicalTrials.gov

ClinicalTrials.gov is a Web-based resource where patients, health care professionals, lab researchers, and the general public can access information on clinical studies on a wide variety of diseases and conditions.

Use the search filters to find actively recruiting and about-to-recruit studies (as opposed to already completed studies) with the keyword “sleep.”

CenterWatch

CenterWatch is one of the largest online databases of clinical trials, where patients and caregivers can get information on the latest clinical trials.

You can filter the search for the “sleep” keyword and specify your location to see a list of trials in your area.

Aside from this search function, you can also register to be a volunteer so you can be notified through email of any sleep-related trial coming up.

Mayo Clinic

The Mayo Clinic is known as one of the best medical centers in the world, integrating health care, education, and research.

Their Sleep Medicine division currently handles 14 open studies in various clinics in the country.

Harvard’s Division of Sleep Studies

This branch of Harvard Medical School regularly recruits both completely healthy people and those suffering from sleep disorders to come to their research facility for testing.

Most studies pay you to sleep onsite overnight with pay ranging from $100 to $350 per night spent in their research labs.

Rally

Developed by Mass General Brigham Research, Rally is an online platform to connect the right subjects to the right paid sleep clinical research trials.

Like Harvard, the hospitals often hosting the studies on Rally are based in Boston.

MedSleep

If you’re based in Canada, this site is for you.

MedSleep clinics provide consultation and treatment for sleep disorders, as well as conduct research and clinical trials.

Currently, they’re managing clinical trials involving insomnia, weight loss, narcolepsy, sleep apnea, and excessive daytime sleepiness.

What to Expect Once You Land a Spot in a Paid Sleep Study

If you’re accepted to the study, you don’t just begin sleeping at the facility. You still have to complete several tests and interviews, including:

A physical exam — this involves the typical cup-peeing and blood-sampling tests
A psychological exam — a test or interview so doctors can determine if you can handle the stress involved in the study
Other sleep-related exams — to confirm your sleep problems (if any) and determine their severity

While there isn’t any actual sleeping just yet, you’d be pleased to know that you will still be paid for your time just by completing the final assessment phase.

Plus, the physical examination and lab procedures are normally free, so if anything, you get an idea of where your physical health is at.

After passing the exams, you’ll be given several assignments to complete.

This may include wearing a fitness device to track your activity, listing down food intake throughout the duration of your trial, keeping a sleep log, or other types of documentation that the study requires.

In most cases, you’ll be assigned a contact person who will tell you everything you need to know and remind you about these requirements. They will see you through the study and work with you so you don’t get kicked out of the trials.

What Happens During the Sleep Study

Once you start the actual study, you can’t expect the same quality of sleep you get at home in your own bed, with your own sheets, pillows, and blankets.

Here are a few reasons why you might have some trouble sleeping:

Medical devices

Be prepared for a couple of needles throughout the trial.

You will definitely get paid to sleep, but be aware that most participants are required to wear an IV, electrodes, and other medical devices in some parts of the study.

Bedpans may also be needed, since some phases of the study may require you to maintain a constant position.

Challenging sleep requirements

Aside from the IV and other medical devices you must wear, you might also be required to maintain a specific position while sleeping.

This can be challenging since we’re all used to our own sleeping positions, and being forced to change it up can lead to sleepless nights.

Don’t worry though, because you’ll be given all the details of the study before you begin.

So if staying in the same spot for several hours is something you just can’t do, you’d have the chance to back out before the sleep trial begins.

Isolation

Can’t stand a few hours without your phone? How about not knowing the actual time?

As a participant in sleep studies, you’ll be cut off from the outside world.

This means no internet, no phone, no laptops, not even a clock.

In most cases, you won’t even have windows to know if it’s daytime or nighttime.

During the study, the doctors will only tell you what you need to know. They’re in charge of telling you if it’s night or day throughout the study’s observation period.

Depending on the details you’ve signed up for, sleep studies held in a facility may be as short as a couple of days to as long as a month. Most long-term studies are done half at the facility and half at the volunteer’s own homes.

6 Other Careers Where You Get Paid to Sleep

If you’re not a fan of being isolated or poked by needles, you can try to look for a job that pays you to sleep.

Some of these jobs may allow you to sleep overnight, while others may allow you to take a nap during your shift.

Here are a few to get you started.

2. Bed or Mattress Tester

This has got to be one of the most fun product testing jobs out there.

Professional mattress testers, or bed testers, test mattresses and sometimes bedding during the development of these products.

Mattress testers have to sleep on a prototype mattress and then fill out feedback forms or create a report on the comfort level of the mattress.

Aside from mattresses, other things you might be hired to test include blankets, pillows, comforters, and other sleep products.

The first website you should look at to find mattress tester jobs is FlexJobs, where they’ve carefully vetted the companies that list open positions.

If you aren’t successful in finding a job from FlexJobs, you can compile a list of mattress companies yourself through an internet search and initiate contact with them.

3. Hotel Mystery Shopper

Not only will you get paid to sleep with this job, but you’ll also get paid to sleep in style.

Now that the travel and tourism industries are picking back up, there is again a demand for hotel mystery shoppers.

As a hotel mystery shopper, you’ll be expected to act like regular clients throughout the entire process; booking the stay, checking in, staying the room, enjoying the amenities, and checking out.

But you’ll be working all throughout this process: evaluating the booking, check-in, and check-out processes, providing feedback on the staff and their service, observing the quality of the facilities and food, and other aspects of the hotel stay that employers will require.

Depending on the mystery shopper company, you’d either be provided a budget to work with or you’d be required to front the cost and then be reimbursed.

4. Overnight Pet Sitter

Traveling with pets can be stressful and may not always be feasible. Thus, pet owners are in the market for pet sitters who can provide services beyond the usual pet daycare.

They need people who can take care of their pets while they’re out of town.

Here’s where overnight pet sitters come in.

You can either work as a two-in-one house sitter and pet sitter to stay in their house and take care of both the house and their pet.

However, another option is that you can host pets in your own home overnight. This is sought after by pet owners who will be out for only a night, or for those who will be out for a few days but for whom house sitting won’t work.

When you host pets in your home, you get paid to sleep in your own home, in your own bed.

Start your gig search with pet sitting companies like Rover.

5. Overnight Caregiver

Some families may need babysitters for overnight shifts, while other families may need overnight carers for elderly, sick, or injured family members.

Overnight caregivers are generally allowed to sleep while their wards or patients sleep, as long as they are quickly alert to administer care during the night, such as giving night feedings to infants, dispensing time-sensitive medications to sick patients, or changing bandages of injured patients.

Other duties that may be expected from overnight caregivers include preparing snacks or simple meals, light housekeeping (e.g., tidying away toys, emptying trash, making beds, etc.), and providing companionship or activities.

Start your search for these jobs on websites like Care.com, which lists down all the local opportunities in your area.

6. Become a Sleep Professional

Studying sleep development is a wide field.

If you’re planning to switch careers or deciding on one, you can become a sleep professional. Here are some career options:

Sleep coaching and consulting – Get certified as a sleep coach and help others improve their quality of sleep. You can provide consulting and coaching either face-to-face or remotely.
Sleep app programmer, QA, engineer, etc. – Work in the sleep technology development industry, if you’re skilled in app development, quality assurance, engineering, and other relevant skills.

7. Make Sleep-themed Content

Sometimes, you don’t even need to go outside your home to get paid to sleep.

The internet gives anyone opportunities to turn your precious slumber into cold, hard cash. You can do this by:

Creating a YouTube channel – Unbox sleep assistance gadgets, discuss sleep techniques, and talk about other sleep-related topics. You can monetize your YouTube channel with ads.
Starting a sleep-themed blog – Review sleep assistance products, educate people about sleep technologies, coach on sleeping, and talk about various sleep-related issues. You can monetize your blog with ads, sponsorships and affiliate marketing.
Building a community on social media – You can monetize communities with memberships (for premium content), affiliate marketing, and sponsorships.

What makes these options great is that you can focus on just one, or do all 3 at the same time, which in turn, triples your sources of income.

Creating sleep-themed content online is also considered passive income, so as long as you’re consistently pushing out helpful content, you’re bound to make money from your work.

How Much Can You Earn From Sleeping?

Now that you have an idea of what jobs pay you to sleep, let’s take a look at how much you can potentially make from these jobs or gigs.

Sleep studies normally pay you per day or per task during the assessment phase, which includes the exams, interviews, and other assessment activities during the application period.

During the actual study in a sleep clinic, the average pay is around $4k to $6k for a 5-day to a week-long study. A 30-day study can go for $10k or more.

For rare cases when you can sleep at home, the average pay is around $150 to $200.

As for the other jobs and gigs on the list, the pay varies widely depending on the company hiring, how long you need to do the job for, and how many other factors.

Get Paid to Sleep Today!

It doesn’t have to be a pipe dream anymore; you can now really get paid to sleep.

Go through the opportunities on your list, find the ones that fit your personality and lifestyle (and maybe sleep disorder) and dream your way toward that cash!

Did you know you can also get paid to cuddle and get paid to do nothing?

20 Free Things You Can Get on Your Birthday Without Signing Up

Written By:Steve Wrzeszczynski

Last Updated:August 22, 2019

Yesterday, I published a giant list of free stuff you can get on your birthday. There were over 200 ideas in there.

Almost all of them required you to opt-in or at the very least give up your email address.

I’ve narrowed down the list a bit to find a bunch of free stuff on your birthday without signing up for anything.

Companies that offer these birthday freebies without the need to sign up are relying on good karma.

In theory, people who have good experiences with a particular brand tend to remember its name and in turn, either intentionally or unintentionally choose these brands when shopping, dining, or just going out.

Birthday Freebies: FREE Admission to Attractions

If you’re asking yourself: “What can I get for free on my birthday?” Your best bet it to filter your search by location.

Many museums, zoos, parks and other local attractions open their doors to birthday celebrants free of charge. You do have to double-check and call the place you wish to go to first, just to be sure.

For example, a birthday gets you free admission to the Denver Zoo and a whole bunch of other birthday gifts as well.

In most cases, you only have to prove that it’s your birthday (an I.D. will do, if your birthday is printed on it).

You may also have to prove that you’re a local… so if you can bring anything proof of billing, postal ID, or any other document that shows you live nearby, then bring it with you.

All-You-Can-Use Birthday Coupons

Many businesses need your e-mail addresses, personal info, or membership for future marketing.

They use birthday freebies into luring people to sign-up.

And it works.

The upside to this is that you’ll never run out of birthday coupons.

Even if you don’t want to sign-up to claim a birthday gift or freebie, there’s a good chance that you’ve already signed up to a couple of them in the past.

If your birthday is coming up, check all your e-mails for birthday coupons by doing a search for “birthday” and print out those you like best. Check your spam folder. You might see treasures there, too!

Most companies send birthday coupons weeks or a month before your actual birthday, so you can begin hunting for good birthday freebies ahead of your birthday.

20 Birthday Freebies (Without Signing up for Anything)

The following establishments give you free birthday gifts just for visiting their store on your birthday (or sometimes, even within your birth month).

The most common requirement is that you have to flash your ID before you can claim your free food, drinks, dessert, or even a lively birthday song from the crew.

1. Bob Evans

Freebie: Free meals for kids

How to Claim: Dine in exactly on your kid’s birthday.

They also offer free kid’s meals after 4PM every Tuesday with the purchase of an adult meal.

2. Cheesecake Factory

Freebie: Get a free Birthday Mini Hot Fudge Sundae. It’s disappointing not to have a cheesecake freebie when you visit The Cheesecake Factory, but a free sundae is still free food.

If you’re ordering a cake or any other dessert, The Cheesecake Factory can decorate it with a “Happy Birthday” greeting, confetti and candle free of charge.

How to Claim: If you’re dining in at The Cheesecake Factory, just tell your server that it’s your birthday and let them handle the rest.

Find a location near you.

3. Chompies

Freebie: Claim your “Eggciting Breakfast” free. This breakfast meal includes home fries, two eggs, and a choice of English muffin, bagel or toast.

How to Claim: This is only available around Arizona. Make sure to bring your ID whichever branch you go to.

4. Dutch Bros. Coffee

Freebie: Get your free coffee, if you’re near a branch that participates in this promotion.

Note that since every Dutch Bros. Coffee is locally owned, it is the discretion of the franchise owner if he/she wants to follow company promotions.

How to Claim: Show your ID at any participating branch. Find a location near you.

5 Cracker Barrel

Freebie: You can get a free dessert and a lively birthday song from the crew.

How to Claim: If you’re planning to celebrate your birthday at Cracker Barrel, tell your server that it’s your birthday. The birthday freebie is valid with purchase of a meal.

Check if there are Cracker Barrel locations near you.

6. Denny’s

Freebie: Free “Original Grand Slam” breakfast, which includes two bacon strips, two eggs, two sausage links and a short stack of pancakes.

How to Claim: There’s no sign up required for this one, but you need to present a valid ID at any Denny’s on your birthday.

Find a location near you.

7. Dunkin’ Donuts

Freebie: Get a free drink of your choice (except for bottled drinks)

How to Claim: The Dunkin Donuts website states that in order to claim your free birthday beverage, you should be a DD Rewards card holder. However, many Dunkin Donuts branches give out free birthday drinks just with an ID.

To be sure, you can find and call your local Dunkin Donuts.

8. Firehouse Subs

Freebie: Get a free medium sub on your birthday.

How to Claim: The Firehouse Subs website states that you’ll have to sign up to the Rewards club, but many fans of this company report that they were able to claim their birthday freebies just by showing their IDs.

Check out a Firehouse Sub location near you.

9. Joe’s Farm Grill or Joe’s Real BBQ

Freebie: Get a free adult-sized meal on your birthday. (The meal’s worth $10)

How to Claim: You have to be a local or visiting Arizona, since both restaurants only have local branches. You’d also need to present you ID to prove it’s your birthday.

10. Iguana Mia

Freebie: Get a regular entree of your choice (up to an $18 value) and free fried ice cream. You can even get a free picture with their huge sombrero to commemorate your celebration there, as long as you provide a camera for the picture-taking.

How to Claim: You must visit Iguana Mia on your actual birth date and present an ID or birth certificate.

11. The Capital Grille

Freebie: Get a chocolate espresso cake on the house.

How to Claim: If you’re dining at the Capital Grille on your birthday, you can claim your dessert as long as you bring your ID exactly on your birthday. The birthday freebie comes with meal purchase, so prepare to eat here as well.

Find a Capital Grille branch near you.

12. Jack in the Box

Freebie: Choose from a New York cheesecake, chocolate overload cake, or 5-piece mini churros snack. Sometimes, the freebie depends on your local branch.

How to Claim: There’s no sign-up required, but you have to visit the Jack in the Box website and print out the birthday coupon. Once you’re in a Jack in the Box location, show your ID as proof and claim your birthday freebies.

13. The Dead Poet (New York)

Freebie: Get a free beer on the house

How to Claim: If you’re looking for a bar to spend your birthday at, check out this New York-based bar. If you’re lucky and you share your birthday with one of the dead poets listed here, claim your free beer while listening to good music.

14. Outback Steakhouse

Freebie: Birthday freebies vary from blooming onion to dessert. This would depend on your local Outback.

How to Claim: The home of juicy steaks doesn’t advertise birthday promos often, but they do provide birthday freebies to celebrants who dine in store. Be sure to prepare your ID to verify your birthday.

15. California Pizza Kitchen

Freebie: Get a free dessert when you dine in on your birthday. You’ll have more birthday freebies if you sign-up for rewards, or you enlist your kid/s for the CPK Kids Club.

How to Claim: Just visit any CPK near you, show proof of identity (with birth date of course), and enjoy your treat.

16. TGI Friday’s

Freebie: Get a free ice cream (when you dine in). The crew will even sing a “Happy Birthday” rap or song for you.

How to Claim: Normally, TGI Friday’s only give birthday celebrants birthday freebies when they’re a member of the Rewards club. But if you dine in at a local branch and tell your server that it’s your birthday, you’ll be given your treat, no questions asked.

17. O’Charley’s

Freebie: Free slice of pie.

How to Claim: If you’re dining at O’Charley’s and your birthday falls on a Wednesday, you can claim this freebie even without signing up.

18. Changing Hands Bookstore (Arizona)

Freebie: Get a $10 or 25% off from your purchase anytime during your birthday month. Kids receive birthday gifts if they visit as well.

How to Claim: Adults need a driver’s license or other forms of ID to claim their birthday freebies, or to claim their kid’s freebie.

19. Harkins Theatres

Freebie: If you’re going to see a movie at Harkins Theatres on your birthday, you can get free popcorn.

How to Claim: You don’t have to sign up with any clubs or newsletters, but you do have to show proof with a driver’s license or birth certificate. Visit the box office when purchasing your ticket. It’s valid across multiple Harkins Theatres locations.

20. Benefit Cosmetics

Freebie: Free brow arch

How to Claim: Visit your local Benefit Browbar Beauty Lounge and claim a free brow arch anytime during your birthday week. There’s no sign-up required for this free service.

Tips for More Birthday Freebies

Most birthday freebies require you to become a loyalty member of some sort in order to claim a reward.

Your best bet at getting free stuff on your birthday without signing up for anything will be in the form of a comped appetizer or dessert.

When making a reservation at a restaurant, make sure you specify that you have chosen their establishment to celebrate your birthday, just be prepared for the staff to sing “Happy Birthday” while you sit there awkwardly salivating at the free cake.

I have also received free desserts when noting that we are coming in to celebrate our anniversary. Don’t limit yourself to just birthdays!

Happy Birthday!

I hope this list of birthday freebies bring a hint of joy to someone’s birthday. After all, everyone loves free stuff.

If you’re fine with filling up a form to register, I have a bigger 200+ list of birthday freebiesb you should definitely check out.

How to Get Free Stuff on Your Birthday: 200+ Things to Claim

Written By:Steve Wrzeszczynski

Published On: September 23, 2018

Did you know that you can get a ton of free stuff on your birthday?

Yup, that’s right! Companies will reward you just for being born.

Okay, most of these are meal ideas and odds are, you aren’t going to visit 100 some different restaurants.

But with all these possibilities, there’s a good chance your favorite spot is in this list below.

All you have to do is join a company’s e-mail newsletter or its membership club. Most of these birthday freebies require no fees (they’re absolutely free), but you do have to fill-in some personal info like birthday, e-mail address, phone number, and so on.

Don’t let your birthday blues get you down. Spend as little cash as possible on your big day.

Check out this huge list of free birthday meals, pampering birthday freebies, and other experiences made free by companies that want to make you feel special on your birthday.

Free Stuff on Your Birthday: The Breakdown

This list is rather massive, so here are so links to help you jump around:

1. Free Birthday Meals
2. Free Birthday Sweets, Treats and Drinks
3. Free Birthday Drinks
4. Birthday Discounts
5. For the Kids & Pets
6. Beauty and Birthday Makeup Freebies
7. Free Movies & Games

Free Birthday Meals

1. Abuelo’s

Freebie: Offers vary

How to Claim: Join the Rewards club

2. Au Bon Pain

Freebie: Free birthday lunch

How to Claim: Join Au Bon Pain’s eClub

3. Aveda

Freebie: A birthday gift worth $23

How to Claim: Join Aveda’s Pure Privilege for $10

4. Backyard Burger

Freebie: Free burger and special discount

How to Claim: Become an e-club member

5. BD’s Mongolian Grill

Freebie: Free entrée

How to Claim: Be a part of Club Mongo

6. Benihana’s

Freebie: $30 birthday certificate

How to Claim: Register for the Chef’s Table

7. Bennigan’s

Freebie: Free entrée or dessert

How to Claim: Sign up for the eClub

8. Bonefish Grill

Freebie: Get a special birthday gift

How to Claim: Become a Bone Fish Grill Insider

9. Buca di Beppo

Freebie: $20 birthday gift

How to Claim: join the Eclub

10. Buffalo Wild Wings

Freebie: FREE snack-sized order of wings

How to Claim: Join Buffalo Wild Wings Blazin’ Rewards and claim 7 days before or 7 days after your birthday

11. Burger King

Freebie: free birthday meal

How to Claim: Parents of kids (under 13) should sign them up for BK Crown Club

12. Black Angus Steakhouse

Freebie: Free birthday meal on the house

How to Claim: Become a Prime Club member

13. Bob Evans

Freebie: Free meals for kids

How to Claim: Dine in exactly on the birthday

14. California Pizza Kitchen

Freebie: free CPK kid’s meal if you celebrate there

How to Claim: Book a birthday party with CPKids

15. Captain D’s

Freebie: Receive a special birthday treat

How to Claim: Join D’s Club

16. Carrabba’s Italian Grill

Freebie: Get a free appetizer

How to Claim: Join Carrabba’s Amici Club

17. Cattlemen

Freebie: Free birthday treat on your birthday

How to Claim: join the Cattlemens E-Club

18. Champps

Freebie: Special birthday gifts (either dessert or cheeseburger)

How to Claim: Join the MVP League

19. Charlie Brown’s Steakhouse

Freebie: Receive a birthday surprise when you visit

How to Claim: Obtain a Handshake Club Card

20. Cheeburger Cheeburger

Freebie: Get birthday freebies via e-mail

How to Claim: Become a member of the Fan Mail club

21. Cheeseburger in Paradise

Freebie: Get a birthday surprise

How to Claim: sign up for the Board Member Club

22. Chili’s

Freebie: Get free chips and guacamole, plus special birthday coupons

How to Claim: Join My Chili’s Rewards Club

23. Chevy’s Fresh Mex

Freebie: Get a birthday freebie

How to Claim: Join the e-Club

24. Chick-fil-A

Freebie: get a special birthday offer

How to Claim: Register as an Email Insider. Make sure the branch you go to honors this promo since birthday freebies are the discretion of the franchise owner.

25. Chuck E. Cheese’s

Freebie: Receive free tokens to help celebrate your child’s birthday

How to Claim: Join the Chuck E-Club

26. Denny’s

Freebie: Get a free Grand Slam on your birthday

How to Claim: Bring your ID to the nearest location

27. Don Pablo’s

Freebie: Get a $10 gift card on your birthday

How to Claim: Become a member of the Habaneros Club

28. Duke’s Seafood and Chowder

Freebie: Get a birthday entree

How to Claim: join the Duke’s VIP Club

29. El Torito

Freebie: Free entrée on your birthday

How to Claim: join El Torito’s Bull Ring email club

30. Elephant Bar

Freebie: Get a birthday surprise

How to Claim: Become a Rewards Club member

31. Famous Dave’s

Freebie: Free birthday meal (either a burger or sandwich)

How to Claim: While this varies between locations, you can get your birthday treat after joining the Famous Nation club. Make sure to get your birthday treat a week before or after your birthday.

32. Fazoli’s

Freebie: Receive a birthday surprise

How to Claim: Become a member of the eFamily

33. First Watch

Freebie: Get a healthy birthday treat

How to Claim: Sign up as a member of the Sun eClub

34. Firehouse Subs

Freebie: Claim a FREE medium celebratory sub on your birthday

How to Claim: Sign up for Firehouse Rewards before your birthday. You can get the treat 6 days before or after your birthday.

35. Fire Mountain

Freebie: Get a free entrée

How to Claim: Register at the Fire Mountain site days before your actual birthday.

36. Furr’s Fresh Buffet

Freebie: free lunch or dinner on birthday

How to Claim: Become an e-club member

37. Godfather’s Pizza

Freebie: Get a free mini pizza if you dine here on your birthday

How to Claim: Make sure you’re a member of the eClub

38. Good Times Burgers

Freebie: Receive a free deluxe burger or a special birthday treat

How to Claim: You have to be a Good Times e-club member first

39. Genghis Grill

Freebie: Receive a Free Birthday Bowl, appetizer or dessert (depending on how often you’ve visited Genghis Grill in the last 12 months.

How to Claim: Join Khan’s Rewards

40. Green Mill

Freebie: FREE small one-topping Deep Dish Pizza for your birthday

How to Claim: Join the Green Mills Rewards Club

41. Habit Burger Grill

Freebie: Get a special birthday treat

How to Claim: Join the Charclub online.

42. Hard Rock

Freebie: Get annual birthday offers at the Hard Rock café and rock shops

How to Claim: Join Hard Rock Rewards

43. Havana Central

Freebie: Free birthday meal

How to Claim: Sign-up for Havana Central’s VIP List

44. Hot’s Hut

Freebie: Get treated with a birthday gift

How to Claim: Become a Preferred Guest weeks or months before your birthday

45. Houlihan’s

Freebie: Get a birthday entrée free of charge

How to Claim: Adults (21 years old and older) must sign-up for the email club before claiming the bday treat.

46. HuHot

Freebie: Free birthday treat and appetizer

How to Claim: You have to join the loyalty program and sign-up for HuHot Rewards

47. Iguana Mia

Freebie: Free birthday meal and fried ice cream (plus a picture with a grande sombrero)

How to Claim: Dine on your actual birth date (preferably around 2 to 6pm) and provide proof with an ID or birth certificate

48. IHOP

Freebie: Get a free stack of Rooty Tooty Fresh and Fruit Pancakes on your birthday

How to Claim: You must join the Pancake Revolution

49. Islands Fine Burgers and Drinks

Freebie: You’ll be given a surprise birthday treat

How to Claim: Sign up for Tiki Link (must be 13 or older)

50. Ivar’s

Freebie: You’re entitled for the Birthday BOGO (buy one, get one) free entrée, so the treat is definitely your choice.

How to Claim: Ivar’s will send you a birthday postcard weeks before your birthday. You have to bring it with you to Ivar’s, along with an ID and your Carte Clam Club card.

51. Jack in the Box

Freebie: If you can choose just 5 out of all the free stuff on your birthday, add this one to your list for a free chocolate overload cake, New York cheesecake or 5-piece mini churros.

How to Claim: You don’t need to sign up, but you do have to print their coupon and prove it’s your birthday with an ID.

52. Jersey Mike’s Subs

Freebie: Get a free drink and sub on your birthday

How to Claim: Join the email club

53. Joe’s Crab Shack

Freebie: Get an appetizer (up to $11) with a choice of clams, shrimp, mussels, fish or lobster

How to Claim: Join Joe’s Catch, print out the birthday coupon they’ll send you and use it alongside a paid adult meal.

54. Johnny Rockets

Freebie: Claim your free birthday burger

How to Claim: You need to sign-up for the Rocket e-Club first.

55. Jreck Subs

Freebie: 6-inch sub freebie

How to Claim: You’d have to sign up for their newsletter

56. Kona Grill

Freebie: The birthday surprise varies each year

How to Claim: Join the Konavore Rewards program by downloading the app or signing up

57. Lander’s Select Club

Freebie: $25 birthday reward will be added to your Rewards card at the start of your birthday month.

How to Claim: It’s the mother of free stuff on your birthday since it home to over 70 other brands of diners and restaurants. You have to get the Rewards Card to claim your birthday treat and other rewards.

58. Lonestar Steakhouse

Freebie: Get a free appetizer

How to Claim: Become an e-club member for a special birthday gift.

59. Longhorn Steakhouse

Freebie: Birthday treat varies by season

How to Claim: You must create a My Longhorn account first.

60. Maggie Moo’s

Freebie: Either get a pizza or ice cream as your birthday surprise

How to Claim: Join the Slab Happy fan club

61. Medieval Times Dinner & Tournament

Freebie: Free admission

How to Claim: Join the “Birthday fellowship” and reserve one full-priced adult any day throughout your birthday month to claim your free pass.

62. Mimi’s Cafe

Freebie: Get $10 discount for every $20 purchase (or more) on your birthday

How to Claim: Become a member of Mimi’s e-club

63. Moe’s Southwest Grill

Freebie: Claim a free birthday burrito

How to Claim: Join Moe’s eWorld first

64. Noodles & Company

Freebie: Solve your noodle craving with a birthday bowl from Noodles & Company

How to Claim: Download the app or sign-up for Noodles Rewards.

65. Not Your Average Joe’s Kitchen & Bar

Freebie: Birthday surprise

How to Claim: You have to be a Joe’s Insider to get freebies and coupons.

66. On the Border

Freebie: Free bowl of the house signature Queso

How to Claim: Sign up for Club Cantina

67. Papa Murphy’s

Freebie: Claim a free cookie dough

How to Claim: Become a member of the e-club

68. Pepe’s Mexican Restaurants

Freebie: Adult birthday dinner

How to Claim: Join the club for the birthday coupon

69. Red Lobster

Freebie: Varies from branch to branch

How to Claim: 7 days before your actual birthday, you have to sign up for the newsletter and receive Fresh Catch News, or download the app to join Red Lobster Rewards

70. Red Robin

Freebie: Choose 1 from 24 gourmet burgers in the menu

How to Claim: You can claim this birthday burger once during your birthmonth, as long as you’re a member of Red Robin Royalty Program

71. Rita’s Italian Ice

Freebie: Birthday treat

How to Claim: 13 year-olds and up must join the club to get free stuff on your birthday. If your birthday falls during winter months (when Rita’s closes shop), you’d still receive a surprise on your inbox.

72. Romano’s Macaroni Grill

Freebie: Surprise birthday treat

How to Claim: You have to sign up for the newsletter, where you’ll be receiving details of your birthday freebie.

73. Ruby Tuesday

Freebie: Free birthday burger or Garden Bar entree

How to Claim: Redeem this freebie up to 5 days before and 9 days after your birthday, as long as you’re a member of Ruby Tuesday’s So Connected.

74. Sbarro

Freebie: If you’re a pizza lover, you’d love this free stuff on your birthday brought to you by Sbarro. Get a pizza of your choice.

How to Claim: Make sure to join the Sbarro Slice Society first.

75. Sonic

Freebie: Get a free classic CreamSlush shake as your birthday treat

How to Claim: Become a member of the Sonic Cruisers

76. Sonny’s BBQ

Freebie: Get a free Big Deal Meal to add to the free stuff on your birthday

How to Claim: Join the ‘Q Crew

77. Souper Salad

Freebie: Claim a free meal anytime during your birthday week

How to Claim: You have to register for Souper Perks

78. The Spaghetti Warehouse

Freebie: Get a free special birthday meal on your birthday

How to Claim: Become a Warehouse eClub member

79. Steak ‘n Shake

Freebie: FREE Double Steak Burger WITH Cheese n’ Fries

How to Claim: You can claim these free stuff on your birthday exactly or 45 days following your birth date. Just make sure to register for the Steak ‘n Shake eClub.

80. Spicy Pickle

Freebie: Get a coupon for a free entrée

How to Claim: Join the Pickle Club

81. Souplantation & Sweet Tomatoes

Freebie: Free veggie buffet

How to Claim: Become a member of the Club Veg and enjoy this soulful meal on the house.

82. Subway

Freebie: If you’re listing down fast food as priority for the free stuff on your birthday, don’t forget Subway’s 20-point freebie that can get you two cookies (at 10 points each) or a bag of chips (15 points.) Or if you already have points being accumulated, then enjoy a subway with these free 20 points.

How to Claim: You should already be signed up to the Subway Rewards Program

83. Texas Roadhouse

Freebie: Free birthday gift

How to Claim: Join the email club

84. Tony Roma’s

Freebie: Get a free entrée on your birthday

How to Claim: Become a member of Tony Roma’s email and text club

85. Uno Pizzeria & Grill

Freebie: Another free entrée for your birthday

How to Claim: Join Uno Insider’s Club

86. Whataburger

Freebie: free Justaburger on your birthdays

How to Claim: Reserved only for Texans and those who visit the state, sign up here to get details about your birthday freebie

87. Wingstop

Freebie: Free order of seasoned fries

How to Claim: Sign up for The Club

88. Wienerschnitzel

Freebie: Claim a free birthday coupon each year

How to Claim: Join the Wiener Lovers’ Club

89. Zaxby’s

Freebie: Free Nibbler on your birthday

How to Claim: Sign up for the Zax Mail

90. Zio’s Italian Kitchen

Freebie: free Bruschetta appetizer and another birthday surprise

How to Claim: Become a member of Zio’s club

Free Birthday Sweets, Treats and Drinks

If you want to add more free stuff on your birthday, but focus on sweets and treats, the following birthday freebies would definitely make any sweet tooth’s birthday complete.

91. A&W All American Food

Join the Mug Club to get a free root beer float

92. Applebees

Sign-up to the Applebees newsletter and get a free dessert on your birthday

93. Arby’s

94. Atlanta Bread

Become part of the Loyalty Program and get a free cookie

95. Auntie Anne’s

Sign-up for Pretzel Perks, or download the app to get your free birthday pretzel

96. BJ’s Brewhouse

Join BJ’s Premier Rewards and receive a free pizookie on your birthday. A pizookie is a mouth-watering ice-cream-topped deepdish cookie. Claim it 7 days before or 7 days after your birthday.

97. Baker’s Square

Become an eclub member and enjoy a free birthday pie for you on your birthday!

98 Baskin Robbins

Join the Baskin Robbins Birthday Club to receive a voucher for a free scoop of ice cream on your birthday.

99. Big Boy

100. Buffalo Wild Wings

Get a free birthday dessert when you join the Buffalo Circle.

101. Cinnabon

Subscribe to Club Cinnabon, and claim a cinnamon-filled goody for your birthday.

102. Carrows

Join the e-club for a free birthday dessert.

103. Cattlemen’s

New members are entitled to free desserts on their birthdays.

104. Cheesecake Factory

Get a Mini Hot Fudge Sundae on your birthday when you tell your server

105. Cold Stone Creamery

Get a BOGO (buy one, get one) coupon for your birthday once you join the My Cold Stone Club.

106. Cracker Barrel

Get a free dessert (and a lively birthday song too!) when you tell the crew it’s your birthday.

107. Culver’s

Become a member of the Culver’s eClub and get a free birthday treat

108. Dairy Queen

Score a buy-one-get-one Blizzard coupon on your birthday if you’re a member of the Blizzard Fan Club.

109. Del Taco

Enjoy a free premium shake when you print out the birthday coupon given out to Raving Fan e-club birthday celebrants.

110. Driscoll’s

Get a sweet birthday surprise from the suppliers of the finest berries. But you have to join the berry-loving community first.

111 Dunkin’ Donuts

Pass by your local Dunkin Donuts if you’re part of the DD Perks Rewards Program and receive a free beverage as birthday gift.

112. Einstein Bros. Bagels

As a member of Shmear Society, you can claim a free egg sandwich when you purchase something else on your birthday.

113. Friendly’s

Don’t forget to claim your free sundae on your birthday, if you’re a BFF Club member.

114. Fuddruckers

Join the Fuddruckers e-Club and receive your birthday treat offer via e-mail.

115. Great American Cookies

If you’re part of the Cookie Club, you’ll be given a fun, birthday surprise.

116. Gigi’s Cupcakes

If you’re a cupcake lover, be sure to join Gigi’s Rewards Program so you can have a cupcake freebie on your birthday.

117. Hard Rock Café

Get your annual birthday dessert freebie through your Hard Rock Rewards.

118. Jack In The Box

Unlock various coupons when you sign-up for the newsletter. Receive birthday treats too!

119. Krispy Kreme

Get your melt-in-your-mouth Krispy Kreme donut freebie on your birthday if you’re a member of the eClub.

120. Lofthouse Cookies

As a member of the Lofthouse Cookies Club, you’ll have access to the birthday coupons that you can claim to receive a free package of cookies via mail.

121. Marble Slab Creamery

Download the Slab Happy App, or sign-up for the newsletter so you’ll be up-to-date once they send in your free birthday ice cream coupon.

122. The Melting Pot

Get crazy with free chocolate fondue on your birthday and you can bring a friend too! Just make sure to join the Club Fondue first. If you buy some of the special items on the menu, you might even get to bring home a box of chocolate-covered strawberries on the house.

123. Ninety-Nine Restaurants

You can claim your free birthday dessert once you join the e-club.

124. Nothing Bundt Cakes

How about some bundlet to add to all your free stuff on your birthday? Sign-up for the eclub and print out your coupon once your birthday month kicks in.

125. Olive Garden

eClub members are given a complimentary dessert on their birthdays every year.

126. On The Border

As a member of Club Cantina, you receive a coupon for Brownie Sundae or Dip Trio for your next celebration.

127. Panera

Join MyPanera club and be able to claim free pastry at their bakery starting 5 days before your birthday until 60 days after.

128. Perkins

Pie lovers unite! Sign-up for MyPerkins and get a voucher for your free slice of pie on your birthday.

129. P.F. Chang

For a free dessert during your birthday month, make sure to join P.F. Chang’s newsletter.

130. Pinkberry

Here’s more sweet, free stuff on your birthday to enjoy! Pinkberry gives away a free frozen yogurt with the topping of your choice. Just make sure to get a Pinkcard, or download the Pinkberry app, so you can claim it on your exact birthday or 30 days after.

131. Sprinkles Cupcakes

Claim your free birthday cupcake each year, as long as you’ve signed up for Sprinkles Perks.

132. Ted’s Montana Grill

Enjoy your free complimentary dessert if you dine on your birthday. Don’t forget to print the voucher you receive from Ted’s email.

133. TGIFriday’s

Receive a lively birthday song and free dessert, if you’re part of the Friday’s Rewards program.

134. Tommy Bahamas Restaurant

Claim your free dessert here, too!

135. Village Inn

Get a free slice of pie or other birthday treats if you register for the Village Inn.

136. Waffle House

Join the Waffle House Regulars Club and receive a free waffle on your birthday.

137. Yogurt Mountain

How about some drinks to go with all that yummy free stuff on your birthday?

138. Dead Poet

If you share a birthday with any of the dead poets on this list, you get free beers and a chance to listen to good music too!

139. Orange Julius

If you pass by Orange Julius on your birthday, you can buy one and get one drink free as long as you’re a member of the club.

140. Planet Smoothie

Get a free smoothie on your birthday if you’re a member of the birthday club.

141. Scooter’s Coffee & Yogurt

142. Starbucks

Get a free birthday drink with your Starbucks Rewards.

143. Tropical Smoothie Cafe

Join Club Tropical and receive your special birthday treat each year.

Need to burn some of those calories you just ate? Check out these apps that could give you some cool side cash just by walking around.

Shopping Discounts

Not in the mood for food on your birthday?

How about some retail therapy, instead? Aside from restaurant, bars, and other food places, you can also get a ton of free stuff on your birthday by going shopping online, or IRL.

Here are some of the ones you shouldn’t miss out:

144. Ace Hardware

Get $5 off from your total when you use your ACE Rewards to shop on your birthday.

145. Columbia Sportswear

Create an online account and get 20% off on your birthday.

146. Designer Shoe Warehouse

146. Hallmark

Become a Crown Rewards member and receive a free card on your birthday.

147. Helzberg Diamonds

The registration part is a bit different, since you’ll have to request for a catalog and fill-in your details, but once you do, you’ll receive a birthday surprise.

148. Kmart

Join Kmart’s Birthday Club for a chance to win prizes and receive member-only perks.

149. Kohl’s

Receive your $5 Kohl’s cash birthday gift for Kohl Rewards members, and $10 off from your total if you use a Kohl’s Credit Card for purchase on your birthday month.

150. Landry’s

Join Landry’s Select Club (it does need a one-off $25 fee), but you’ll get priority seating, $25 birthday reward, and $25 off with every $250 you spend at Landry’s.

151. Old Navy

152. World Market

World Market Rewards Program members receive a $10 off coupon for their birthdays.

For the Kids and Pets

You’re not the only one who could get free stuff on your birthday. Even your kids and pets have coupons, discounts and treats specially offered to them on their birthdays.

153. Barnes and Noble

Sign your kids up for the B&N Kids’ Club, so your child can get a free cupcake on his/her birthday.

154. Dave & Buster’s

Become a Rewards member and receive a $5 free game play on your birthday.

155. Little Tikes

Members of the Birthday Bonus Program receive special promos, discounts and gifts starting 30 days before their actual birthdays.

156. Radio Flyer

Birthday Club members receive a $10 gift card every year on his/her birthday.

157. Toys R Us

If you sign them up for Geoffrey’s Birthday Club (only kids 10 years and under), your kid can receive a free card every year until his/her 10th birthday, a $3 gift, and a free, in-store celebration (with a balloon, crown, and special announcement). Geoffrey even calls Birthday Club members at home for birthday greetings.

158. Petco

Got furbabies instead? You can also sign them up for Petco’s Birthday Club and receive big discounts on their birthdays.

Beauty and Birthday Makeup Freebies

Your birthday is the time to stock up on all your beauty products and favorite makeup since you can receive a ton of free stuff on your birthday. Some of them include:

159. Aveda

Sign-up for the Aveda Rewards program and receive a beauty freebie on your birthday.

160. bareMinerals

Join the Friends and Benefits Program for a free matte lipstick on your birthday. You can claim it in-store, or have it shipped online.

161. Benefit Cosmetics

How about a free brow arch any day during your birthday week? Create an account with Benefit and be on your way. Not all branches offer this though, so better check before you go.

162. Bliss

163. Caudalie

All you need to do is fill-in your details to join myCAUDALIE and receive a surprise birthday gift, which usually includes a kit of beauty products.

164. Clarins

Become a member of the Clarins Family and receive a birthday surprise.

165. Cle De Peau

Receive a birthday gift if you have an active account with Cle De Peau.

166. CVS

Join the ExtraCare Beauty Club, and get $3 ExtraCare bucks on your birthday (it’s valid throughout your birthmonth, too!)

167. Dr. Dennis Gross

Join the VIPeel Loyalty Club and redeem one birthday gift per year.

168. Elemis

169. Elf

Become a member of the Beauty Squad and get a free gift every birthday.

170. Estee Lauder

Get a birthday gift if you sign up sign up for the Loyalty Program.

171. Fresh

172. Gilchrist & Soames

You can get a beauty kit birthday treat from Gilchrist & Soames, just make sure you sign up for the newsletter first.

173. Jane Iredale

Love mineral cosmetics? Sign up for the Beauty Rewards to get your stash on your birthday.

174. Kiehl’s

Join Kiehl’s Rewards program for a free, skincare birthday gift

175. La Roche-Posay

As a La Roche-Posay Member, you receive professional derma skincare products for your birthday.

176. La Mer

At La Mer, you get complimentary skincare items with every order, but if you sign-up for email updates, you’ll also be entitled for a free birthday kit.

177. Lancome

There are tons of free stuff being given away to Elite Rewards members, but the annual birthday gift is probably the one you should be excited about. Registration is free, so check it out.

178. L’Occitane

Receive a birthday gift if you keep up-to-date with everything L’Occitane-related.

179.MAC

Be one of the millions of makeup-obsessed members of M∙A∙C Select and get a birthday gift every year.

180. Nars

A favorite out of all the stuff you can get for free on your birthday, Nars sends out a birthday gift on the house if you’re registered to the NARS newsletter.

181. NYX

Join the NYX Birthday Crew and claim a free birthday surprise.

182. Ole Henriksen

Get more skincare freebies when you sign up for an account at Ole Henriksen.

183. Paula’s Choice

Get an account at Paula’s Choice Skincare and bring home a birthday gift every year.

184. Sabon NYC

Join the Royal Passport to receive a birthday gift.

185. Sephora

Out of the many free stuff on your birthday, Sephora”s giveaways are probably the most popular when it comes to beauty finds.

186. Shiseido

Shop with exciting rewards, get awesome beauty birthday makeup when you create an account here.

187. Smashbox

Join the rewards program, which entitles you to free makeup during your birthday month annually.

188. SK-II

Sign up for the newsletter and receive a complimentary deluxe sample of their bestselling facial treatment, plus a surprise birthday gift.

189. Skinceuticals

Get access to advanced skincare products on your birthday. Make sure to join the newsletter and print out your voucher.

190. Space NK

191. Sally Beauty

Sign-up for the eNewsletter and get an annual cash-amount birthday gift that you can use to purchase awesome Sally Beauty items.

192. Shu Uemura Art of Hair

Receive up to $17 worth of birthday gifts if you become a My Shu Style member.

193. Tarte

Get an exclusive birthday gift from Tarte Cosmetics once you join the Rewards program.

194. The Body Shop

Become a member of “Being a Love Your Body Club” and receive professional, customized skin care advice and $10 each year to spend on your favorite Body Shop products.

195. Too Faced

Create an account on Too Faced and receive a birthday gift annually.

196. Ulta

Join Ultamate Rewards to receive your free birthday set, which includes a lip mask and lip oil. You can claim this gift any day throughout your birthday month.

197. Urban Decay

Become one of the UD Beauty Junkies and claim your birthday surprise every year.

198. Vichy

Take advantage of complimentary samples, free shipping and a birthday surprise containing anti-aging skincare products if you join the Vichy USA newsletter.

199. Victoria’s Secret

Obtain an Angel Card and receive $10 discount on your birthday.

200. Winky Lux

Visit the Winky Lux website, enter your birthday details at the bottom of the page, fill-in some personal details, and be prepared to get a birthday surprise.

201. YSL

Get a free full-sized birthday gift when you sign up to be a YSL Member

Here are More Free Stuff on Your Birthday to Make Your Day Extra Memorable

If you’re interested in bowling and other activities, take advantage of more free stuff on your birthday, including:

202. AMF Bowling

Claim a free game on your birthday if you join AMF’s Pinsiders Club.

203. Disney Movie

Get 100 free points for your birthday when you sign up for Disney Movie Rewards.

204. Olan Mills Portrait Studio

Want to preserve your memories of the day? You can sign up for the Birthday Club and your kids (ages 3 and below) can claim a free package on their birthdays.

205. Redbox

Receive a free birthday movie rental at your nearest Redbox kiosk. Just make sure to sign up for the Redbox Play Pass first.

Get as Much Free Stuff on Your Birthday as You Can

Whether today’s your birthday or you have one fast approaching, I do hope you have a great day!

Hopefully this list helps make it extra special.

Note that restaurants and other businesses end or change their promotions often, so consider this list of free stuff on your birthday as a guide. I’ll try to update this often, but if you see a birthday freebie changes, please let me know.

Have fun with these birthday freebies! Let me know which ones you claim!

Get Paid to Travel Around the World: 22 Legit Ways

Written By:Steve Wrzeszczynski

Last Updated:November 29, 2021

Wouldn’t it be fantastic to get paid to travel?

Imagine the places you can see…

the culture you’d experience…

the food you’d taste…

the friends you’d meet…

and the beauty of beaches and other natural or handmade destinations around the world you’d be able to keep in your memories.

If you’ve been stalking travel bloggers forever and wondering how these seemingly ordinary people can travel around the world, this post will answer all your burning questions about this “industry.”

Sure there are various ways you can travel for free, but wouldn’t it be even better to make money while you travel?

Here’s how to get started:

22 Ways to Get Paid to Travel

You’ll likely encounter two main types of jobs:

Jobs with travel and accommodation included – You apply to these jobs abroad because it gives you the opportunity to travel without spending a lot upfront. Jobs like ski instructing and cruise ship gigs are perfect examples of these jobs.
Odd jobs in the city you plan to travel – Those who rely on real-world skills to go wherever their feet take them, get by through finding seasonal jobs. Bartender gigs or teaching how to speak another language fall under these types of jobs.

Whatever job you end up taking, always make sure that it’s legal, and you can do it legally (that is, don’t get deported or worse, arrested!).

Here are some of the ways you can get paid to travel.

1. Get Paid to Teach

Not a lot of people can do this, but there is always a demand for teachers, regardless of the topic that you plan to teach.

a. Teaching Skiing and other Specialty Sports

Depending on your travel goals, teaching people to ski can get you a job and a place to stay at popular ski resorts in New Zealand, California, Colorado, and other places.

Other similar instructor jobs involve scuba diving, yoga, fitness, surfing, rock climbing, and a whole lot more.

You usually have to get certifications and other requirements to land these jobs, but it is worth it.

b. Teaching English and other languages

Most travelers opt to teach English abroad as it involves a skill they already possess. Plus, depending on the company they work for and the type of equipment they have, they can do it anywhere in the city or country where they are.

The requirements are easy to meet too!

In most cases, you’d only have to be a native speaker to get the job. Some companies require a college degree and a teaching certification (that you can easily obtain online).

Legit companies will pay teachers their airfare and housing on top of a monthly salary with benefits.

There are plenty of resources about teaching languages either online or office-based, but you can start with Dave’s ESL Cafe if you’re serious about going this route.

2. Get Paid Housesitting & Petsitting

Taking care of other people’s houses and pets when they’re away is a real job.

Some people have been housesitting professionally around the world for years. Of course, accommodation is free and as long as you’re not breaking the terms of your contract, you have the freedom to tour locally for extended times.

Want to know more? You can learn more about housesitting in this article.

3. Apply to Cruise Ship Jobs

For people who want a bit of security as they roam around the world, cruise ship jobs are the perfect gateway to living the nomad life.

The best thing about landing a cruise ship job is you get free fare and free room and board while traveling, plus you’ll get a salary.

You’re essentially getting paid to travel, which is the whole point!

The jobs vary wildly; from entertaining (singers, dancers, hosts, tour guides, etc.) to day-to-day cruise ship work like housekeeping, cooking, waitressing, bartending, and more.

Work hours are long in cruise ships, but it gives you a chance to see the world, one port of call at a time.

Requirements depend on the position you’re applying for, but at the very least, you’ll have to know how to swim and be physically, emotionally, and mentally able to stand months at sea.

Start by checking out jobs on All Cruise Jobs, Cruise Jobs Guide, or CruiseShipJob.com if you can find something you’d be interested in.

4. Explore Hospitality Jobs

Working in a hotel or hostel as a front desk officer, housekeeper, cook/chef, bartender, waitress, etc. can certainly pay off, especially if you do your job in many different places around the world.

You’ll have a better chance of getting these jobs if you apply in hotels that are in areas with plenty of tourists all year round.

This is one of the most straightforward ways to meet locals and actually experience their culture, as well as speak to tourists and learn travel tips and destinations.

This route can be hard because it involves back-breaking, labor-intensive work, but this can be fulfilling for the right kind of traveler.

5. Become a Farmhand

This is one job where you’ll need to be strong and have plenty of stamina.

Becoming a farmhand is no easy endeavor, but if you’re strong and have plenty of stamina, it’s a good way to earn while you’re traveling.

If you’re looking for something that gives you time to explore, why not check out WWOOF (World Wide Opportunities on Organic Farms)?

They offer opportunities to work on organic farms throughout the world.

You’d work for a set number of hours a day (around 4 to 6 hours) and you get room and board in exchange. That leaves you plenty of time to go exploring.

6. Be an Au Pair

If you’re an unmarried young adult with no children but are good with them, working as an au pair in another country is a good way to earn money while traveling.

An au pair is an individual who travels to a foreign country for a definite period of time, usually a year, to support a family through childcare and housework in exchange for room and board, as well as a salary.

The main purpose is a cultural exchange; you get to learn about a foreign land and possibly a new language, while your host family gets childcare, housework, and learns your language and your culture.

The benefits of being an au pair are triple: you get to live in a foreign country, you get free room and board, and you get paid a salary!

There are horror stories behind jobs like this, so it’s usually a good idea to use a trusted agency like GoAuPair.com, AuPair.Com, AuPairWorld, or Great AuPair.

7. Work on a Yacht

Working on a yacht is much different from working on a cruise ship. You’ll need to wear many more hats and be a team player as well.

Finding yachts to work on is made much easier by using The Crew Network, a site designed to match up crew looking for work and boat owners looking for crew.

Even if you don’t have experience working on a yacht or any kind of boat, you can still apply to entry-level yacht jobs, such as deckhands or stewardesses. Of course, you can also apply as a chef or an engineer if that’s your professional experience.

While you will get to work in and visit many new and exciting places, be aware that you won’t be in control of your destinations.

8. Alternative Travel Jobs

If you’ve never been comfortable with 8-to-5 jobs, alternative jobs would probably work better for you.

These jobs are often under-the-table, so don’t expect overtime salaries, benefits, and all that jazz.

But you’ll be able to get paid to travel and support your adventures day in, day out by:

joining a group of fire dancers,
drawing/painting people’s portraits,
becoming a camp counselor,
singing or playing music for the quirky bar,
helping local farmers,
…or doing other cool jobs.

There’s not much security in these kinds of jobs, but it gives the most freedom to earn from various tasks each day.

9. Get Paid to Travel while Doing your Old Job

There’s a term for a growing number of people who sold everything they owned, packed a bag, and traveled to Bali or somewhere exotic.

The only thing they kept from their old life is their jobs.

Called “digital nomads,” these groups of people work from their computers. Their location is irrelevant, as long as there is access to the internet.

If you’re lucky and your current company offers to turn your office job into a remote position, then you can adapt to the digital nomad lifestyle easily.

For those who can’t continue doing their old jobs, there is a wide range of jobs available for you to do.

10. Earn from Travel Photography

If you have an eye for travel photography, you can sell your images to the right people.

Matthew Karsten of ExpertVagabond.com sells images from his travels to National Geographic, tourism departments of various countries, magazines, tour companies, book publishers, and more. He even teaches fellow “vagabonds” how to earn money with travel photography.

11. Get Paid to Travel with Freelance Writing

Those who have a flair for words can earn money while traveling through freelance writing. Magazines like The Travel Channel often hire third-party writers to share their stories with their readers.

Since traveling could be your forte by now, travel writing often comes out naturally.

However, you don’t necessarily have to write about travel. You can earn as a freelance writer even if you talk about finance, IT, or even product reviews.

Freelance writers earn somewhere between 1 cent to $1 per word, depending on their skills, experience, popularity, and the company they’re working for.

Interested? Here are 153 other writing jobs you can check out.

12. Work as a Travel Nurse

Travel nurses work temporary, short-term assignments (as short as 18 weeks up to 6 months) at hospitals or other healthcare facilities to fill positions when there is an unusually high demand for nurses in a certain location.

You’d need the same educational level and licenses that traditional registered nurses and nurse practitioners who work in hospitals and clinics, with the added requirement of being willing and able to travel and relocate.

Travel nurses usually find employment in other states and sometimes other countries by signing up with a travel nurse staffing agency. Some reputable ones include American Mobile, Onward Healthcare, and Aya Healthcare.

13. Move Cars

If your idea of traveling is driving cross-country, perhaps working to deliver cars from one point to another may appeal to you.

Customers may hire drivers to drive their cars home from a vacation while they get home through other means of transportation. Still others may want their vehicles driven home when they move to another state.

14. Haul Boats

For much the same reasons as customers want drivers to move their cars, some (probably more affluent) customers may want to hire people to move their boats; either they’re moving or going home after a vacation.

They may either hire people to haul their boats by loading them onto a trailer and driving them, or they might be willing to hire a sailor to drive the boat.

This type of job isn’t very much in demand, but this might be a good supplemental income if you like driving.

15. Rent Your House

If you own your house and don’t want to sell it when you travel so that you’ll still have a “home base,” you can make money off it by renting out your house through Airbnb, other similar apps, or through a property management company.

This way, you can earn side cash from a property that will sit idle otherwise, and you’ll have a safety net in case you have trouble getting a steady income while traveling or you decide you want to come back home.

You might think it’s better to rent out to people you know, but there are pros and cons to renting out to friends versus strangers, so learn them before you finalize your plan.

How to Earn Money from a Travel Blog

I’m now going to talk about how travel bloggers earn money that could sustain their adventures.

Before we begin, you have to understand that it takes a lot of hard work, no-income months, and budget traveling for travel bloggers to be able to live the life they project on their social media.

Some bloggers even use up their entire life savings or sell everything they own just to be able to travel the first several months from their own pockets.

Simply put, the success of travel bloggers doesn’t happen overnight.

And they all got their start by following quality Internet Marketing training.

16. Google Adsense and other premium ad networks

Anyone can join Google’s advertising platform, as long as the website has been live for at least six months and meet other requirements.

Once you join AdSense, you can start placing special code on your blog, which then displays ads that are relevant to the content of your site.

You earn cents per view. It doesn’t sound much, but if your blog is visited by thousands of people every day, those cents can add up pretty quickly.

When your audience grows bigger, you can apply to other ad networks that have better rates. MediaVine or AdThrive, for example, are known to pay higher rates than AdSense but require your blog to have a minimum number of visits monthly.

17. Affiliate Marketing

With affiliate marketing, you mention products and services on your blog, add a link going to a third-party store like Amazon and WorldNomads.com that sells these products, and receive a commission from a sale if someone clicks on your link and buys anything from that store.

The more affiliate links you post on your blog, the higher chances of receiving bigger commissions.

Be wary of doing it too much (especially if the products are no longer relevant to your brand). Too much advertising is generally frowned upon by readers/viewers.

Instead, only recommend products that you actually use. For example, a new camera or phone that you use for recording your videos, travel gear given to you by a friend, books you just read, and so on.

Aside from third-party stores, you can also check out dedicated affiliate networks like Commission Junction that organizes affiliates from multiple brands.

Popular travel blogs with over 500,000 monthly page views earn $10 to $15k per month.

18. Brand Partnerships

Many bloggers say you’ve made it big when companies begin noticing you, your blog or social media accounts, and the network of audience you’ve built.

Their goal is to establish a partnership with you.

These companies will pay to advertise on your platform. This could mean a blog post, tweet, mention on newsletters, Instagram feature, and so on.

The cool thing about sponsorships is that the income potential is endless.

From several hundreds of dollars for a post on Facebook to over $15,000 for an ad package or long-form post, the deals depend largely on the company you’re talking to and your bragging rights (how popular is your blog, how much audience do you have, etc).

A note about sponsorships/partnerships: Make sure to always include a disclaimer whenever you post a sponsored video, article, photo, and so on. This way, you remain honest with your audience and maintain their loyalties.

Take a look at our BIG list of brands looking for influencers to partner with.

19. Long-term Ambassadorships

If you get paid to travel as a brand ambassador, you’re living the dream many bloggers aspire to achieve.

When you become a brand ambassador, you’ll be featured in that brand’s commercials, social media marketing, and other activities of the brand.

Think about how successful athletes become icons for Nike, or famous actresses become spokespersons for CoverGirl, and so on.

Brand ambassadorships are longer than a typical sponsorship and include more than one promotion.

What’s great about these deals is that more often than not, the brand pays more or less $10,000 per project. And the greater reach you have, the higher rate you can ask.

20. Tourism Marketing

The viral potential of blog posts or videos is unquestionable, and tourism departments of many countries are catching up to online advertising.

If you’re in the rockstar levels of travel blogging, you’ll be invited to visit a country (usually with flights, accommodation, and tours paid) on top of a project fee. This fee can go as high as $20,000, depending on the type of promotion included in the campaign.

Tourism boards, tour companies, and local brands and industries are other groups willing to sponsor trips and travel expenses of travel bloggers to promote their regions and products.

21. Get Paid to Travel with Social Media

Even if you don’t maintain a travel photography website or travel blog, you can still get paid to travel with social media. You have several options, including:

Facebook – Nas Daily, a traveler who tries to inspire people with 1-minute video snippets of his travel around the world, uses Facebook indirectly to make money traveling.

Capitalizing on his fame from making 1,000 one-minute videos in 1,000 days, his page currently has 20 million followers on FB, which helps him earn from his merch and land video editing jobs, consulting gigs, speaking engagements, and other opportunities.

His current endeavor is Nas Academy, which aims to present engaging courses targeted to content creators.

Instagram – Travel bloggers on Instagram produce some of the best-looking travel photography today. Just a quick look at the best Instagram travel bloggers gives you an idea of how talented they are.

These Instagram stars earn money through sponsorships (mostly in the travel industry) and brand placement.

22. Become a Local Tour Guide

Being a local tour guide isn’t as hard as you think.

Sure there are plenty of agencies you can join, but there are usually no set laws surrounding this job.

If you have a solid knowledge of the area, plenty of stories, anecdotes, and trivia, and a good sense of humor, this is probably a good fit for you.

Plus, you can use your travel blog to promote your tour guide services and vice versa.

And don’t underestimate how much content you can mine from your tour guide sessions. You can write about your clients (don’t name them if you don’t have their permission) or something interesting or new you’ve learned.

You CAN Get Paid to Travel!

Getting paid to travel is the dream, really.

Just remember: it’s a combination of a ton of hard work and a little bit of luck.

Your best bet is to find jobs that take you around the world and then create a blog about your adventures.

Once you have a big enough following, that’s when the magic starts to happen.

In the meantime, browse my list of work-at-home jobs. These are jobs you can do anywhere in the world.

Which job or option looks most attractive to you? Share your thoughts with us in the comments below!