We all love watching videos, everyone who has a phone or a computer and internet connection watches at least one video online every day. And since the video is increasingly becoming the go-to content format for online advertisers and publishers everywhere, we are sure to see a massive proliferation in the demand and creation of video content in the years to come.
So many proactive people have already been making some money from this trend, watching videos online and making money from it, so we figured you’d want a slice of that pie as well.
We’ve rounded up ten of the best-known ways internet surfers, especially in Canada and the US, have been using to make cold, hard cash by watching videos.
Of course, like some other online money-making opportunities, you will need to combine as many of these video watching platforms as your schedule can manage to be able to make a reasonable amount.
But bear in mind that watching videos alone will not make you rich; you will need to have some other legit source of making money online for that.
Quick Peek At The Top 10 Sites To Get Paid For Watching Videos
1. Swagbucks
2. Inbox Dollars
3. App Trailers
4. My Points
5. Market Force Information
6. Netflix
7. Viggle
8. Paid2YouTube
9. Caddle
10. The Nielson Computer and Mobile Panel
1. Swagbucks
First on the list of free video watching is Swagbucks.
There are so many ways you can earn money from Swagbucks, and luckily, watching videos is one of them. This company is one of the longest-running and most reputable brands in the paid task niche. Since their inception, they have paid out well over $390 million to their members, consequently earning themselves an A+ rating with the Better Business Bureau.
Thankfully, Swagbucks does not confine you to watching boring videos that make you want to claw your eyes out. They have a variation of video types covering subjects of entertainment and travel among many others. You are given a $5 bonus for signing up with them and you also accrue points for every video you watch.
Your points can be redeemed via PayPal or in the form of gift cards from global brands like Walmart and Amazon.
2. Inbox Dollars
The name of this company is telling, so it’s perhaps not surprising that the primary way their users make money is by reading messages that the company sends to their inbox.
Thankfully though, the company has also provided its members with the ability to monetize the time they spend watching videos on the platform. Like Swagbucks, Inbox Dollars rewards every new sign up with $5. They also hold an A+ rating and accreditation with the Better Business Bureau.
Since they launched in 2000, they have paid out over $56 million to their members. This is thanks to some of their heavyweight market research partners like Target, Publishers Clearing House, H&R Block, Walmart, and of course, Netflix.
Inbox Dollars currently enjoys a rating of 4 out of 5 stars on Trustpilot which says a lot about their service.
There’s a lot more you can get paid for doing on the platform besides watching videos: taking surveys, playing games, performing online searches, shopping and a lot more. Your rewards come in the form of coupons or cash.
3. AppTrailers
This program is exciting in the way it is set up. Like all the other options on this list, you can do a lot of other stuff with this platform.
Additionally, you can also make money by watching the numerous app trailers, movie trailers, DIY videos and much more on the platform.
For your efforts on AppTrailers, you earn Perk points which roughly convert to $1 for every 1100 Perk points. You can redeem your rewards in a number of ways.
Options include gift cards from the likes of Amazon, Starbucks, Target, Groupon and even PayPal.
Alternatively, you can request a Perk Plastik prepaid debit card and convert your points to cash with the card.
4. MyPoints
With MyPoints, you get a $5 bonus upon sign up. You are paid for anything from watching videos and taking surveys to printing coupons and playing games among other tasks.
The kind of videos you can watch include app trailers, movie reviews and a lot more covering subjects like politics, entertainment, news, health and more.
The minimum withdrawal threshold is $25 and you can get your money via PayPal or in the form of gift cards and coupons from Bath & Body Works, Best Buy, American Airlines, Amazon, Expedia, Macy’s, The Home Depot, eBay, and more. Bear in mind that you can only watch videos on MyPoints via a desktop browser — Safari excluded — and via the MyPoints TV app available on the Android and iOS platforms.
5. Market Force Information
This company offers a unique opportunity for all movie lovers to make money off their passion.
Most movie lovers would consider it a dream come true if they could attend movie premieres at no cost, but Market Force Information actually goes a step further by providing you with the opportunity to attend your favourite movie premieres for free and pay you for it as well.
When you sign up with them, you will be known as a Certified Field Associate (CFA). You will receive alerts for different movie theatre-related assignments. These are known as field visits and you can choose to accept or decline them.
If any of these field visits involve you paying to watch a movie premiere or buying any concessions while in the field, you will be reimbursed for those expenses as well. This opportunity is only available to residents of the US and Canada.
6. Netflix
Yes, you can get paid for watching content on Netflix. The video streaming service continues to redefine the way we consume TV content. And when you become a tagger or creative/editorial analyst for Netflix, you help them to better categorize their huge library of content to make sure they better tailor their content recommendations to other Netflix subscribers both on their platform and when they search on Google.
Basically, as a Netflix analyst, the platform lets you stream thousands of their programs.
Your task would then be to tag each programming you watch with its specifically relevant metadata to optimize its search conversion.
Opportunities to become a Netflix “tagger” are not available all-year-round though, so you may need to check occasionally to see if any spots have opened up.
7. Viggle
Another great way to make money by watching videos is through Viggle.
This app is powered by Perk and offers another unique way to monetize watching online videos or TV programming. Viggle’s method is simple.
When you sign up with them, you get access to a list of programs from local stations and streaming platforms such as Hulu, Netflix, and Amazon. The money you earn comes from following the ad prompts that show up during commercial breaks while watching any show.
Simply use the app to access your favourite TV programs and shows and accumulate points that can be converted to hundreds of gift card options, merchandise, or cash.
Besides watching videos, you can also earn with Viggle by simply listening to music, podcasts or another audio programming from your phone.
8. Paid2YouTube
This service, as the name suggests, works specifically for watching Youtube videos. Since almost everybody watches videos on the world’s largest video search platform, it makes sense to monetize your time spent on Youtube via this platform.
With Paid2YouTube, the pay for watching a video isn’t really encouraging. But with consistency, the numbers add up pretty quickly.
When you sign up with the platform, you get a $0.05 sign up bonus, and you also get $0.005 for every video you watch. However, you don’t always have to watch the entire video; each video has a 30-second timer, and you get your full pay for each video after 30 seconds of it has played.
If you want to accelerate the money you make, you can also opt to perform other tasks like making comments on the videos (they pay 10 cents per comment), rating them and referring people to the platform. You can cash out directly to your PayPal when you hit the minimum payout of $10.
If you are a YouTuber, Paid2YouTube is also a great way to promote your videos and channel to bank high traffic.
9. Caddle
This cashback rebate app puts money back in your pocket when you shop with the grocery discount offers they provide. Of course, you also make money for doing a bunch of other stuff like writing reviews and answering surveys.
But Caddle is on this list because you can also make money by watching video ads from their partner brands available on the platform.
Usually, these ads are 15 to 30 seconds long. You will also have to complete a short questionnaire of 3 to 8 questions concerning the ad you have just watched to be able to get paid for it.
You get a $1 welcome bonus for signing up with Caddle and another $1 for every friend you refer to the platform. The minimum payout is $20 and they pay via cheque. Caddle is only available in Canada.
10. The Nielsen Computer and Mobile Panel
This is the last on our list of ways to get paid to watch videos online. This innovative data-gathering app is owned by the global marketing research firm, Nielsen.
The beauty of this app is in its simplicity. There are no specific surveys to take or videos to watch and so on.
When you download the app and install it on all your devices, all you need to do is to go on using the internet as you do every day: surfing websites, performing searches, watching videos and so on and get rewarded for it.
Nielsen gives away $10,000 each month to its app users for helping them gather pertinent consumer insight on people’s internet behaviour.
Conclusion
Now, that was the list of the top 10 ways to make extra cash or side income by watching videos in your spare time. Apart from making decent cash, you can also earn some gift cards.
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As mentioned earlier, none of these methods will earn you enough to quit your job. So it is wise to combine this with other legit money making methods online that give much higher returns for your efforts.
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