7 Ways Anyone Can use Referral Links & Earn Extra Cash

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Last week I told you all how to earn cash back and money without the use of a credit card and depending solely on your debit card. (Seriously who wants to be in debt?) While, Ebates, MyPoints, SwagBucks, SmarterBucks and more are all lucrative and beneficial in their own way, you are missing huge earning potential if you aren’t taking advantage of one key feature. Referral Links!In case you are completely clueless, referral links/programs are known as compensation companies will give you for any purchase or sign up made through a link specifically generated for you. Depending on the company and how they work they’ll either give you a fixed rate compensation of money, points or gift cards for each referral.

It’s true I’ve made a decent amount through videos, surveys, and the cash back features on all of these sites, but none of it compares to the cash and points I racked up from my referral links. The use of referral links from sites I love remain my favorite way to earn extra cash for my debt payoff mission. Plus, they help me pay for running this blog. The reason is simple. Companies give you much more for referrals than they do for other options in their apps or site. 

If you’re shopping online at sites like Zulily, Zazzle, VistaPrint and more and aren’t using referral links, you’re doing it wrong. Learn how to put your referral links for your favorite sites to work for you and earn extra bucks!

Seriously, would you choose getting 2 percent cash back for a purchase through SmarterBucks or the opportunity to earn $5.00 for every person who signs up through your referral link? Or let’s take another example. Which sounds better – 3 percent cash back for a Kohl’s purchase through Ebates or earn $75 for every 3 people to sign up for Ebates through your referral link? Obviously, both options are great but the referral earnings take the cake. I’m willing to bet a bunch of you are only taking advantage of the regular promoted features of these sites. And who could blame you? It’s simple, convenient and anyone can do it.

But I’m going to tell you how to earn even more money, points and gift cards for the things you want by taking advantage of all those referral options. It’s about time you started double dipping in all of these amazing sites. Just do at least one of the below suggestions and you’ll definitely see an increase in earnings.

1. Put it in a blog post

Placing referral links in blog posts are one of the most lucrative yet simple ways you can earn big for all those cash back sites. I believe it’s the avenue that provides the most earnings when it comes to referrals (at least for me.) Blogs posts gives you one of the best opportunities to thoroughly explain why the service you are referring works as well as get readers excited by providing your honest experiences with it. Don’t worry if you don’t have a blog. It’s easy to start a blog. All you need is a good idea, some content and a site to publish it on.

2. Make it your email signature

We tend to think of email signatures as those little bits of information containing your address and title as it pertains to your professional address. However, who said you can’t have other signatures with valuable information for your personal address as well? It’s time you put that old AOL email or favorite Gmail address to work for you. Are you a big fan of the simple way you can make money to pay back student loans through  SmarterBucks? Sign off each email with a clever signature such as,

“From debt to riches: How I’m paying of student loan debt one online purchase at a time with Smarter Bucks. Check it out here.”

Of course, it doesn’t have to be that lengthy or specific, but people are bound to see your signature, get curious and want to click on over to see what the hype is about. In due time, you’ll  see the points and moolah rack up from your clever signature.

3. Put your texts to work for you

That’s right. Those referral links work for text messages too. And I’m not just referring to having a simple conversation about your favorite site through text. Instead, create a signature for your text messages and place your referral link of choice in it. Imagine how many text messages you send each day and how many people see the those texts. Now think about how many people could have been seeing your signature, clicking on the link out of curiosity and signing up through it had you created a text signature.

Didn’t know you could make signatures for texts? Its simple. To create a signature for texts if you have an iPhone go to Settings on your homepage. Then click on messages. Scroll down to the “signatures” option, input your text and then hit save. I don’t have an android phone so I can’t direct you to create signatures for that, but I’m sure the process is just as simple.

When creating signatures for your text messages, remember to keep it short and sweet. No body feels like reading paragraphs on why your favorite site is worth checking out on a tiny screen. Just a few words with the link or code for the referral should do the trick.

Did you know you can create signatures for your text messages? Use the signature to list your referral link for a chance to earn more.

4. Facebook profile

I think by know everyone knows that Facebook remains one of the top ways to get everyone’s attention. It’s obvious that you can create a status letting every one know about a particular site’s or app’s greatness. However, have you ever thought about placing it in your “About” section. Or what about in Facebook notes? I know these are often forgotten sections of Facebook, but that doesn’t mean you should ignore them completely. Who knows which one of your friends might wander into other sections of your profile. Not placing it in these sections are potentially missed opportunities to earn from your referrals. Poke around your Facebook page and see what other places you can find to drop in a referral link or two.

5. Caption it on Instagram

Depending on who you ask, Facebook is on it’s way out while Instagram is making it’s way in. That means you’ve got another opportunity to let the world know why your company of choice is the best and earn from it. One of the best ways to do this through Instagram is to make it the caption for one of your photos. For example, some months ago I posted a picture of one of the outfits I wore to Zumba with the following caption, “I don’t dress to work out. I dress to work it thanks to Zumba. Get the gear at Zumba.com and use my referral link to get 10% off.”

If people like what I wore, they’ll be more inclined to poke around the Zumba website and make a purchase through my referral link. The same strategy could be used for several other things such as a blog hosting site, cash back sites, receipt apps, etc. Get creative.

6. Forums

If you are an active member of an online forum, it might be the perfect place to input your referral link. Like a blog post, online forums give you the opportunity to explain to those reading how your favorite company, app, etc. works, what they can get for it and personal anecdotes of how it helped you. If you’re already an active member of the forum, many readers will already trust your suggestion and be more inclined to learn more or even sign up. If you are not already a vocal, trusted member of the forum consider hanging back for a while before suddenly telling them why you should sign up for a particular service, etc through your referral. You need to give yourself some time to establish credibility with the members before you start referring . But once you are considered a trusted member, you’re in and can refer to people like crazy. Just don’t take advantage of it by posting your referral too frequently.

7. Spread the word verbally

Regardless, of how well the above work, word-of-mouth still tends to be king when it comes to referrals. Asides from discussing products, websites and services you love being more natural, those you know personally already trust your judgement (we hope). They’ll be more inclined to take your suggestions to heart and inquire themselves.

Of course, you don’t need to do every item on this list to put your referral links to work. Obviously, the more you sign up for the more chances you have to earn though. When putting your referral earning plan in motion, consider sticking to one or two referral links rather than several different ones to reap the most benefit.

Also, we all know that extra points, or money is enticing enough to refer friends, but please only refer those companies in which you truly enjoy and happily use yourself. As a rule of thumb, I never refer any service or app until I’ve successfully used said service for atleast two months. Lastly, make sure you avoid becoming overly spammy. I know you love the new online store you found and excited about earning even more from letting people know about it, but no one wants to see five statuses a day, three blog posts, ten text messages, four emails, and a Youtube video about it. Space them out accordingly as not to overwhelm.

How do you put your referral links to work for you? Are you taking full advantage of their earning potential?

TERRIfic Words: Work smarter, not harder.