“Get
paid to” programs (or GPTs as they are often called)
are one of the many ways that freelancers can make money
from home. If you’ve been looking for a work at home
job, you’ve no doubt run across ads that claim that
you can make money by reading e-mails, answering surveys
and trying free samples.
The
good news is many freelancers make money doing those exact
things. The bad news is that this particular industry is
rife with scammers. If you are interested in getting involved
with GPT programs, you’ll have to do your homework
and take special precautions to protect yourself and your
computer.
It should be noted that very few people make full time income
from GPT programs. GPT should be used as a supplemental
income source at best. For many freelancers, the GPT programs
are a fun and easy way to earn some extra money when they
need it. People who have experience with the programs recommend
that you never rely on GPT to pay your monthly bills. But
they can be a perfect solution to earn money for a special
occasion or holiday shopping.
Just
what are GPT programs? They fall into three basic categories:
get paid to read e-mail, get paid to fill out surveys and
get paid to try products. Each type has its own pros and
cons. Before you start any GPT program, you should take
some steps to protect your personal information. You will
be required to give your personal information for many of
these programs and the less you actually say about yourself
the better.
To start
you should register a separate e-mail address for your GPT
purposes. Many programs can result in a lot of spam mail,
so you’ll want to keep your main e-mail address separate.
You can also register with NetZero to get a free voicemail
inbox and private phone number. This is helpful in keeping
your home phone free of telemarketing calls.
Get
paid to read e-mail programs will pay you a few cents for
receiving e-mail and clicking on links. Normally these e-mails
offer special deals on products or encourage you to sign
up for programs. Sometimes, depending on the e-mail program,
you will get more money or “points” if you try
the offer. You are not obligated to try the offers, and
will get paid a small amount just for clicking on the link
inside of the e-mail. There are many popular paid e-mail
companies. Do some research before you sign up for a program
to make sure that people are actually getting paid. Try
not to sign up for too many programs at once or your GPT
e-mail address will be swamped.
Getting
paid to fill out surveys works in a similar way. You
will sign up for a survey
program and then fill out some personal information.
You will be matched to surveys that are looking for the
opinions of people in your income bracket, of your age or
one of several different qualification factors. Depending
on the company, you will get paid per survey, or completing
surveys will earn you points that can later be redeemed.
Just as with get paid to read e-mail programs, do research
on survey companies before you sign up. There are hundreds
out there but only a handful are worth the time and effort.
Finally
there are get paid to try products programs. These programs
pay significantly more than the other GPT programs. However,
you will be required to pay anywhere from $1 to $10 to try
the products. When you use these kinds of programs, you
have to be careful to take complete records of what you
will be receiving and when you need to cancel service or
return the item. Most of the time you will be registered
for recurring billing for a monthly service, which can be
cancelled within the initial 7 to 14 days. You can call
the companies and cancel the service, yet still be paid
for signing up for the GPT program.
Remember
that GPT programs are a great way to supplement income but
are not something to be relied on for monthly bills.
You are
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