I'll admit, I used to think that freebie sites were a total scam for companies to make you sign up for something while promising you something you'll never get. That was until I received my first payment from a "freebie site", which happened to be a smooth $250.

A "freebie" implies that you'll get something for free; and you will - but you need to do your part first. Typically, you get a freebie through three steps. First, you sign up at the site and complete one of their sponsored offers to go "green" and fulfill your personal requirements. "Greening" means the site recognizes that you have completed an offer through their site and they have been credited for you completing the offer. Then, you usually need a certain amount of "referrals," which are people you tell about the site, who sign up and do the same thing you did. Once you have the correct amount of referrals, you submit for verification. That means the site is reviewing all of the people you referred to make sure they didn't complete an offer fraudulently; and to make sure that they're not you. Once you're verified, you place an order at the site and in about a week, you have your free gift in hand.

Freebie sites make their money from companies who pay to advertise on their site. Every time you complete an offer, or one of your referrals do, the company pays the freebie site a certain amount of cash for bringing them a new customer. The freebie site earns the money from you and your referrals to purchase and send you the gift; and that's it!

Freebie sites offer a wide variety of things from video game systems, to home appliances, to cold hard cash. After you've completed your requirements, each referral is generally worth around $45 dollars. For instance: for a free PSP, you would need to sign up and complete one of the offers on the site, and then get five other people to do the same. A PSP costs $250, so each referral for that site was worth roughly $50. Freebie sites usually also offer the cash equivalent to the gift that they're featuring, so you would probably be able to receive $250 PayPal if you preferred that. PayPal is like an online banking service where you can send money to anyone with an email address. Create a free account at www.PayPal.com.

While freebie sites are a great way to earn some extra cash for that shopping spree you've always wanted to go on, they do require a certain level of attention. Keeping organized is the best way to stay efficient in the freebie world. Know what offers you've completed, know what sites you're signed up for, and keep track of your referrals. That way, the money you make won't end up being thrown out the window because you forget to cancel a free trial you don't want to continue with or something.

If you have trouble finding referrals on different sites, there are a bunch of sites you can use to trade referrals with people, or you can even pay for referrals.

If you're interested in getting into freebie sites, just send me a message and I'd be happy to point you in the right direction for starting and completing your first freebie site. Thanks, and good luck with getting FREE STUFF!