The Money Making Review

This review on Only4Gamers membership to learn how to become a game tester / play games to earn money is based on a membership paid for by TheMoneyMakingReview for a member of our site.

Only 4 Gamers www.only4gamers.com is a site dedicated to providing resources and help in video game testing. The job listings are updated daily and available, at least currently, for a one time fee of $37.97.

The main entry to the website might tout “play games for free” and “play games and get paid” but inside Aaron tells you the real story. Game testing is a job. You’ll get paid to test games, not just play them. In addition if you aren’t in the right geographical areas (namely California and Washington) you may have a hard time finding openings.

That aside, Aaron goes through all the details, from what not to say during an interview to the language of gamers. A very thorough treatment of how to go about obtaining a job in the games testing arena complete with a flow chart is given for study. All together a very solid site.

I had a couple of additional questions for our reviewer that I thought would help you decide if this is the right opportunity for you:
1) Did you get a job using the skills taught in the membership?
No, I have not as I don’t really live in the best of states for the video game industry.

2) How long have you been a member?
I have been a member of Only 4 Gamers for approx. 3 months.

3) Will you continue to be a member?
A feature of the membership is that it is, at least for now, lifetime. So I will continue to be a member and have access to the site’s membership areas.

4) Do you feel that the cost of the membership was appropriate for the information you received as a member?
The cost of the membership is worth it for the constantly updated job listings. The time spent on this alone for most folks is worth the fee, allowing the member to concentrate on other activities, like actually applying for positions.

5) Are there any additional costs after the membership fee?
I am unaware of any “hidden” fees with Only 4 Gamers. Membership seems to be the only fee charged thus far.

6) Do you recommend joining?
If you live in Washington state or California you can definitely find listings in those regions. If you don’t then it may be quite a bit more difficult for you to find job postings that will be in your state. That said, the frame of reference that Aaron has for his site cannot be overlooked as a good source for general job hunting tips. How to interview, what should be in (or not in) a resume, all from the perspective of a gamer can be quite handy for other gamers. Its certainly a more interesting read than an MLA style handbook.

Do you have an experience with Only4Gamers?  I would love to hear it – just leave a comment!

Overall – it looks like if you live in the right geographical areas, this is a good opportunity.  If you are interested in joining just click! www.only4gamers.com.

The following is a review on From Home Data Entry, you may have seen their web page that states they are 100% Scam Free. The site claims that you will be able to make money through legit data entry provided through their services.

I signed up for From Home Data Entry on October 29, 2009. At this time the packages were separated in two packages. You could choose to sign up for a small package of 100 assignments, a large package of 300 assignments, or with a small discount both packages for a total of 400 assignments. (I did both packages for this review). As of 1/1/2010, the packages changed, now they are offering four 100 packages or all four with a discount.   The possible amount is the same, but this is a better set-up since you can “cash-out” after each of the 100 assignments instead of waiting until you have completed 300!

There are seven “tester” assignments, you can do the work and see if it is something that you like, just know that you will NOT get paid for these sample assignments unless you sign up and pay for assignments. You should also know that there are NO refunds allowed after you have made payment for the assignments. The terms and conditions of the assignments are spelled out and should be followed specifically in order to get paid. The terms are set in order to avoid those who would try to “cheat” the opportunity to make more money. The company running the opportunity is called Plimus and this is how the charge will come up on your credit card or PayPal statement.

The assignments take between 30-45 minutes each. I found this type of “work” a tad bit annoying, it is amazing how many spelling and grammatical errors can be found on sales pages. You will see what type of websites that you will be reviewing, some of them are interesting and some are not. If you are easily convinced with marketing techniques, I would probably recommend that you avoid this opportunity. Some of the marketing can be very persuasive and you may end up spending more money than you would have made.

Some tips that I can recommend at this point:
- Sign up for a free email address BEFORE you pay for your assignments (make sure that this email is connected to your From Home Data Entry membership).
- Make sure your sentences are complete.
- Give full examples on why you think things should be added or deleted.
- Contact customer service for any issues that you might find, because you need to report errors.
- Make sure not to copy and paste from the website or other forms that have been completed.
- Keep all communication from them with your email.
**More to come based on payment**

Here are my concerns with the company and the opportunity:

1) There have been changes to the set-up on how to access your assignments and how to confirm that you are the owner of the assignments; however there has been NO communication to the member about correct procedures on how to deal with the changes.  In addition, there was no warning about the changes, they just happen!

2) Payment is stated to be after the website owner reviews your data entry and they receive payment from them to send to you.  This  process takes 6 – 8 weeks!  What?  I have to wait 6 to 8 weeks to find out how much I will earn from this opportunity.  That is right, you will not know if the website owner will make payment for your data entry until you get paid.

3) Customer service, although in the beginning it was quick, I think they are getting bogged down with the request since their communication is so bad about the changes.  I had a couple of issues that were not taken care of in the 2 day maximum time quoted.

4) There is a statement on the site that the opportunity is limited and could run out at any time.  I have a concern that they will oversell the packages (since there will be some drop out) and when you complete your packages, the payment will not be available.

I requested payout on 1/11/10, and will update the review as soon as I get more information. Final thoughts, I will let you know when we get to the 6 – 8 week time-line that was promised…stay tuned….

Peoplestring is a paid to read offer to make money online type of site with a twist.

First you need to confirm your mailing address before you can start earning with the offers.  The offers range from $.25 to $.50, which is a high payout compared to other similar sites.

There is also a pay out to the members within the site to receive revenue sharing from the site.  It is based on People dollars to determine your share that you will receive.  The amount of people dollars is based on how much you log in, not how much you click.

There is also a section that allows you to get cash back on your shopping, this is similar to Big Crumbs, however will be in the same place as the rest of your earnings so may help you to get your payout faster.  (I prefer Big Crumbs, cause there is no minimum to receive the payout)

There are two memberships within the site, can you guess them, yep, your right paid and free.  The free membership is what I signed up for on 10/09.  Then received my activation code about 6 weeks later, it took a little while for it to get to me, but I have seen some others receive it much faster.

Ok, the paid membership when I joined was touted as a special launch option that was not going to be around forever.  This membership is called “entrepreneur” and costs $200 (YIKES).  This is a lifetime membership so there are no additional charges and you can earn a good deal more depending on your recruiting abilities.  Also included in this (and something the Peoplestring people seem proud of) is a self destructing email ability.  In other words, you can send an email to someone and then it will destruct when you have programed it to do so.  I am not sure why this would be a benefit…any ideas?

There is a minimum of $25 to get paid out.  Free members are paid out once a month if they meet the minimum and paid members or entrepreneurs get paid every two weeks.

I signed up for the free membership, like I always do to let you know how much you can earn on the free memberships (although I doubt I will sign up for the Entrepreneur membership). I have not done any recruiting for the site, so the amount that I am currently at is based strictly on the first survey and any surveys offered since joining.  Update – I just got my revenue share for the month of October/November/December, now my account is at $7.65, although there are a couple of earnings opportunities available now; they remind me of the offers you find in Fusion Cash or Inbox.  To get more people dollars so that you get a larger share of revenue, make sure you sign out of your account so you can sign back in.  Also, click on the offers box to see if there are new offers.  You can do this up to two (2) times per day and you will need to space it out in order to get the People Dollars credit.

The back office has a lot of information, about PeopleString and the set-up of payout. The email management is located in the back office. You can also log into many of your favorite websites through your main homepage. This is also where the referral page is located with many tools to help you recruit in PeopleString. Overall, it is a good site, there are good money making opportunities through the membership and it does not take as much time as some other similar sites.  I will keep you up to date about payout, when it comes time! 
Best of success in your money making!

Is Thrive learning institute really a good investment in your Internet education?

I was contacted by Thrive Learning Institute in May 2008, this contact was through another purchase, I did not contact them directly.  I know that they got my information through Process At Home with Angel Stevens.  I believe that the two companies could be intertwined, as the receipt states that it is “Process at Home – Trive Institute”.  It is surprising that in this day and age, companies are still using cold calling marketing.  I guess I was desperate at the time, so I went for it!  There were additional calls from other businesses that were associated with this business to sell more products.

So, what is Thrive about?  This is a learning institute that will train you with a support team and videos.  The main training is based on e-commerce.  The training is in depth, the support is good (not great), and they provide hosting and a website creator for your e-commerce site.   During the training you are able to get information on picking the right product, creating your website, how to sell, and promoting your product and website.

Overall thoughts:

Cost- Too much initial investment for the training.  I paid an embarrassing amount of money to gain this knowledge.  There is an additional monthly fee for the use of the website builder and hosting.  The membership is based on a certain number of months that you will agree to at time of purchase.

Support – there is a team that is assigned to you.  Although they are advertised as experts in the e-commerce field, they were usually unable to help me on my questions. 

Other thoughts- instead of allowing the member to see the other resources available and make decisions based on the recommendations.  Instead, they allow or give your information to other businesses and have them call you..ok, that was not fair, I do not know for sure that they gave away my information.  As we all know, once you start a business you will get entered onto a lot of lists.  I learned the hard way, you don’t have to do the same thing by “falling” for the quick pitch on their services or products.

My Results- unfortunately, the training was not enough to create an innate desire to become an e-commerce entrepreneur.  I do believe that you could gain a great amount of information through the training; however, I feel that the price does not equal the value of the training or support.

In conclusion, I don’t use their services anymore.

ClixSense is a paid to see advertisements / paid to see websites. There are two different types of memberships, paid and free (what a shocker!).
The free membership limits you to a smaller amount of ads that you are able to review. This is currently what I am reviewing for you fine money makers. I joined on September 8, 2009 and have tallied up almost $4.00!  Not bad considering this is purely through ad review, which are credited between $.01 and $.02 for each 30 second ad.  As a free member you are able to get paid for referrals as well at $.50 per referral. I do not do this, since I have not been able to fully evaluate the site and payment.
Ok, so you maybe asking yourself…”Does she just stay online and review these ads?” The answer is a resounding “no”, I have way too much to do to simply wait for new ads to appear for my $.01!
However, the earnings have been on a fairly consistent basis of checking the site once in the morning and once at night. It takes between one minute and five minutes to get through the ads and get credit and although you cannot start another ad until after the 30 second window for the first.  I have another window open on my browser while I check my email, Twitter, or Facebook. I would not recommend this if your computer is a little older and can’t handle the amount of requests.

So..the question is weather the paid membership is really that much better?  I will be evaluating and updating you all shortly.

Hey!  If you are interested in checking this out with me and giving me a tip in the process here is my affiliate link – up to you if you want to use it.  Thanks!

Samantha’s Clixsense Link

So, all in all – paid to read ads is a low income type of work. If you are interested in small time investment and small monetary investment, this type of “work” might be suitable for you. However, if you are looking for something more lucrative, I would recommend to keep checking out the site. There is much more on the way!!!

The following is a review of www.MyPoints.com; this site is a marketing medium that allows members to earn points based on different activities.  I will be discussing those activities and my thoughts on the site.  I feel that it is important to note that I am a member of MyPoints; however do not receive any compensation from MyPoints for this article.

As a member, you would receive targeted marketing emails through the MyPoints system allowing you to gain points and find if you have interest in the product being offered.  Emails range from points earned at 5 points to 50 points depending on the offer.  The system knows which offers to send to you by the short questionnaire required for sign-up. In addition, one is able to earn points through shopping at a site, book travel, and play games.

Game play can achieve points through WorldWinner and Winster.  At this writing, Worldwinner is connected to MyPoints allowing 5 points for every dollar spent.  Winster is a free game play system that uses MyPoints to increase membership for their site.  Winster is granting 500 MyPoints after a certain amount of play.  There are also “easy points and max points” that allow additional points for either credit card or non-credit card required offers.

So, the question you are probably asking is: So what?  In answer, I have been able to accrue several hundred dollars in the way of gift certificates through using MyPoints’ email system.  I have not used retail to increase my point amount.  I was able to earn the gift certificate through no cost to me.  For that case alone I would recommend the system.  In addition, the site is always changing and evolving based on the advertisers.  The site is laid out very easy to read and understand. They also have special sweepstakes throughout the year (usually focusing on a holiday).

In conclusion, I would recommend MyPoints to those looking for a way to earn money online in a fun (but leisurely pace).  It also allows you to see new product and get great deals from many online and traditional stores.  I have found the business honest and received my gift cards in the mail in a professional manner.

You can visit their website at: www.mypoints.com

A survey site is a good place to start earning money on the internet.  The amount and type of surveys you will receive will be based on your profile questionnaire.  The rewards differ based on the length of the survey, the needs of the marketer and the amount of responses needed.  One of my favorite survey sites is My View.  I have been a member for about 2 years.

With My Views I have never had problems getting paid for my completed survey.  The site is upgrading their rewards tracking, previously rewards were paid as earned (after confirmation), now they are accumulated in your bank.  I have noticed with this site that the time it takes to “confirm” your survey takes longer than other sites.  However, this is a cash based system instead of points which is something that I prefer.  (UPDATE!: They are now using a point system that you can use to get a pre-paid debit card)  I like getting cash rewards instead of accruing points to purchase something in their bank. You will need to get $25 dollars approved before ability to cash out.

The only problem with My Views that I find annoying (but not a deal breaker) is that the site makes you confirm your basic demographics before each survey.  In other words, confirmation of your age, sex, and income etc, then when you get into the survey, you have to complete the same questions again!  In the second portion is when you will get eliminated from being able to take the survey.  It takes precious time, which you will find is very important. If make this a hobby (cause you can’t make enough money to make it your day job) know to take your time to complete each survey, if you rush through it too fast you will be dismissed from the survey and not get compensation from your survey.

I enjoy taking the time for the surveys, and it makes me feel like I am able to help a business help me.  I have found the business to be honest and have received my payments on the timeline that they gave.

You can visit their website at: www.myviews.com – you can also sign up with them through My Points and get points!!!

Fusion Cash is a site that is an example of a type of affiliate marketing program or referral program.  Think about it this way; cash fusion is the marketer and you are getting a bonus for going to where they send you.  There are many types of earnings on the site some needing a credit card and others not needing one, surveys, and referrals.  They are also referred to as a “get paid to read email site”.

I was a member of cash fusion for 4 months and earned $58.25.  My account is still in good standing, but I have not been on for a year.  This was one of the better sites, which included quick honest credit to my account for activity.  I had to contact them once for a missing credit for a Netflix account, but with a $20 pay-off; I guess they were being careful.

If you are trying to get away with not doing the trail runs or trying to “get over on the system”; your account will be terminated.  Fusion Cash like others want to have respectable people following their terms and conditions, pay attention to them or pay the price.  If you honestly want to try several types of products through trails, I suggest creating a spreadsheet to help you know when you have to cancel before the recurring charges begin.

You can visit their website at: www.fusioncash.net – yes, I still have a referral link, but that is not what this article is about.  You can also check on MyPoints to see if there is a point referral to sign up for fusion cash.

“Iwon” is a website that states you can win cash through playing games.  Is it true, has anyone really won while playing their games?

Iwon has many variables that allow the guest to win actual prizes and money.  There is an instant win game, points used for sweepstakes (earned through play), and cash games.  Through my experience with the site, I have “won” a $5 gift card.  It is important to note that for ANY winning you will be contacted via telephone for confirmation (I guess to make sure you are a real human) before being sent the prize.  Since I do not answer my phone for unknown callers, I never received my instant win prize.  In addition, I used 11,900 sweepstakes entries in one shot (it was my way of increasing the odds for my winning), I did not win the $100.

In conclusion, Iwon is a fun website with lots of games to keep you procrastinating about work or keep you away from your family, but not very likely you will win big on the website.  One last thought of something I do like about the site is that you can “play for a cause”, you can chose a cause and the site will credit them sweepstakes points; whichever is the highest ranking cause will get money for the cause.  That will make you feel better about not going to the gym and playing on your computer for a “cause”.

You can visit their website at: www.iwon.com – you can also sign up with them through mypoints.com and earn points!

NPD Online Research is an online survey site that gives points based on your qualification for each survey.  As with all (legit) survey sites, there is a profile that will help to narrow your survey invitations so there is relevance and more chances for you to qualify.

NPD offers points that you enter into a sweepstakes of your choosing (out of what they have available), instant wins for points or prizes and a game that can increase the amount of points after your survey is complete.  I have been a member of NPDOR for about 2 years, I get about 3-5 survey invitations per week and qualify for the majority.  I like the way the set up is on their site; it is easy to move through the surveys.  As with all survey sites, it is important to take your time and answer the questions; if you rush through a survey the site will not give you credit and you will be out of luck for spending so much time on it.

In the two years of being a member I have not been able to win any of the prizes.  As a last attempt I saved almost 2,000 entries for the $100 daily sweepstakes, but did not win.  In conclusion, the surveys are interesting and if you really like taking surveys this is a good site; however, if you want to be sure that you will be rewarded, this is not the site.

You can visit their website at: www.npdor.com – you can also sign up with them through read emails get paid sites (good way to get some money for signing up for something you would have signed up for anyway).