Yes, you can actually make money watching videos. But, unless you have an actual job-job with a company, it will be a cumulative project most of the time.
Sort of like digging around in the sofa or couch for loose change to go in the piggy bank. And, it can be time-consuming; so you’ll have to manage your time if you have other things you want to get done.
Having said that, it could be a lot of fun; so let’s explore how to do it.
How the Process Usually Works
First, you’ll have to determine your market and what you want your reward to be. Not all projects pay actual cash. You need to be aware of that when you sign up for projects. Cash rewards are usually cents on the dollar and are only paid out once you reach a certain amount. You’ll normally have to attach a bank account for direct deposit or have an account similar to a PayPal to transfer the money into. Although, few companies will actually still send you a check in the mail.
One that I’ve tried is Swagbucks they do have a section where you can get paid for watching videos. You can read my Swagbucks review here.
Other projects pay by giving rewards or incentives. You might be given a gift card or access to certain services for completing projects. Other projects pay by allowing you to accumulate “points”. After you reach a certain amount of points, you might be able to exchange it for dollars; but normally you’ll be exchanging it for something the company might be offering like a free trip or a “chance to win” a free trip.
Personally, I have no time to work for only a chance to win anything. If you are like me and your time is precious, be sure to read agreement clauses and the fine print. That way you’ll have a good idea what you’ve signed up for.
One more thing to mention about making actual money. Even though they may be small payment amounts, you may end up receiving some type of Tax Form for accountability in the mail or email for your records, at the end of the year. Be sure to be on the lookout for them when tax season rolls around.
Some companies may even allow you to download the tax information from the site. If any of the keywords like “1099” or “independent contractor” are mentioned in the correspondence, that’s something to pay attention to. Now, let’s take a look at a few of the markets you can make money for watching videos.
How to Find the Paying Gigs
The burning question should be, “How do I find these jobs or gigs?” (The name they are sometimes referred to). I suggest you do an online search using keywords for the type of work you are interested in. There are tons of articles and posts that include links to other links that will try to get you to watch a video for free. (And actually, this is one of the ways you can technically make money watching videos—by getting others to watch them too!)
To avoid being led around and around, I suggest making direct searches of your own. When I typed in a variety of phrases using the “Get paid for…” lead, interesting results appeared. I thought focusing on search criteria would be more affecting than selecting any one opportunity. Search criteria widen your areas of consideration. Here are a few areas to consider.
- Get paid for watching movies and videos
- Get paid for writing movie and video descriptions
- Get paid for critiquing movies and videos
- Get paid for transcribing movies and videos
- Get paid rating movies and videos
- Get paid for movie and video summaries
- Get paid indexing movies and videos
- Get paid for playing videos
- Get paid for promoting videos and movies
- Get paid for videos and movies.
These are only a few of the many variations you can try. Sometimes you may get a few repetitive results. But more often than not, you’ll get fresh content to look at. After the results are shown, it’s pretty much up to you to decide what to apply for or where to roam. There are some dated articles and posts that will appear. I wouldn’t totally ignore them because some of them have some good information, but I wouldn’t invest a lot of time in them either. Some of the newer posts actually seemed to be the old posts re-churned.
Equipment and Tools Needed
Outside the use of the standard movie/video watching paraphernalia of a blanket, comfy chair and a bag of popcorn, you’ll want to have a reasonably modern computer and a fast internet connection. ‘Buffering’ is an issue to be reckoned with.
There is nothing worse than trying to watch a video or a movie and it keeps stopping during play. -_- Many internet providers have great deals on services that will give you the speed you need at affordable prices.
I would also include some sort of note taking method in the list of tools – be it mechanical or manual. Meaning, you could use your phone’s microphone app to take notes while watching the video or movie if it’s long enough so that you can dictate notes to yourself as you watch for transcribing at the end.
Or, you can use pencil or pen and paper to jot down a few notes as you go. Oddly enough, I find using a pencil with note cards work for me. They help get those creative juices flowing and I can write each thought on an individual card.
Final Thoughts
Honestly, I think that you can be successful at making money from watching videos and movies; but, it might take some time in getting there. Unless one of the companies really like what you do and decides to pay you full time at a great salary, it’s going to take some time accumulating money from these efforts.
On the other hand, anything is possible. And cents to add up to dollars. You just have to be consistent. And if you do several projects at a time, they add up quicker. After all, it beats checking the couch every day.
Let me Suggest Another Option…
If you are looking for a way to make extra money and you love movies and videos, why not set up your own site about movies? Now you might be thinking how did this go from watching videos to set up a website, just stay with me.
If you want to make more then small amounts of money, then creating a website on a topic you enjoy and make money with it in different ways can be a better option. Here are a few things you could do…
- Set up a site and recommend videos, send people to Amazon where they can purchase them and you get a commission from the sale.
- Love watching new movies and review them? You can do that and send them to book cinema tickets online and earn a commission.
- Blog about your favorite TV show and put ads on there, every time somebody clicks the ad you will earn.
These are just some suggestions you can potentially make more money with.
Want to learn more? Start Here!
You can also check out my Amazon Case Study where I share income numbers and more.
Is this for you? Are you looking to make some extra cash by watching videos? We would love to hear your experience, feel free to leave a comment below.
Have a productive day,
Vicky
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