Swagbucks

*Disclaimer before I get into the meat of Swagbucks.  If you sign up through the links to Swagbucks I do get a referral bonus*


So, I've mentioned it a few times now but I signed up for this thing called Swagbucks.  It's been about a month so far and I have earned enough Swagbucks to redeem for $15 in Amazon giftcards.  Which is fabulous considering I didn't pay anything to get them.  Here's how it works.


1.  Sign up for a Swagbucks account and hopefully get a bonus just for signing up.


2.  Use it to search for things instead of your usual search engine and randomly get Swagbuck awards for searches.  Now I agree with Mashup Mom on this one (librarians stick together!), this search engine is not as good as google.  I use it to search for specific websites like facebook, blogs I read, etc. and for browsing for ideas for things craft wise.  For serious searches like "I'm looking for this website someone showed me a few years ago that had to do with facts about incoming freshmen and was put out by a college" I'd stick to google.  BTW, if you want to see this neat list I was looking for it's called the Mindset List and put out by Beloit College.


3.  Vote in the Daily Poll for a free Swagbuck each day


4.  Click through the NOSO for a free Swagbuck each day (just decline or skip offers you aren't interested in participating in)


5.  Download the toolbar and open the browser with it loaded onto each day for a bonus Swagbuck.


6.  Shop through their Shop and Earn section to get Swagbucks for your purchases (these take a LONG time to show up in your account)


7.  Keep an eye on Facebook, Twitter, The Swag Blog, and the swidget to find Swagcodes for Bonus Points


8.  Refer people to get matching Swagbucks from their searches.


9.  After your week anniversary, check the survey page daily for a bonus buck, fill out the survey profiles for various Swagbucks, and participate in surveys for even more Swagbucks.


So far I've been doing most of these and in a little less than a month I've earned 3 $5 Amazon gift cards (cost 450 Swagbucks each).  Granted that includes a big purchase I made at Petco, but I haven't got any referrals yet.  They also just rolled out this new SwagbucksTV feature, but I haven't done much with it.  I encourage you to give it a try, some free Amazon money never hurts!  :)