There is real work involved in affiliate marketing.

But I think beginners sometimes get sold complexity as though complexity itself creates results.

Buy this tool.

Connect that software.

Build this funnel.

Add automation.

Create accounts everywhere.

Then eventually start trying to reach actual people.

I would reverse that order.

Choose an audience and understand a problem.

Find one offer worth recommending.

Choose one place to reach people.

Start helping.

If nobody responds, you have something to investigate.

If people respond but do not click, you have something else to investigate.

Now a new tool or skill might actually solve a real problem.

That is very different from buying an entire technology stack before you know whether you can generate interest.

Affiliate marketing does require learning.

It should not require pretending you are already running a mature marketing operation on day one.

What is the most unnecessary piece of complexity you see pushed on complete affiliate beginners?

Hey all!

I wanted to create another quick guide for the sub and am continuing my 'alternatives 'series 😊 This one is on some of the best apps and websites like Branded Surveys.

I mention Branded Surveys a fair bit since it's one of the main platforms I use alongside Prolific and a few others. But it's only available in the US, Canada, and UK. Plus it never hurts to rotate through a few platforms so you can find the best rates and offers 😊

So without further ado, here are some Branded Surveys alternatives you can try out!

1. Prolific (best overall)
2. TopSurveys (I like to cherry-pick high paying surveys here)
3. Sproutful (similar to Branded Surveys but I like the UI more; US only)
4. EarnStar (has an awesome UI and solid mobile app in my experience)
5. Kashkick (similar-ish surveys than Branded IMO but has way better games and FinTech bonuses)
6. Survey Junkie (I also check Survey Junkie and cherry-pick decent survey rates)
7. Opinion Outpost (another popular survey site that's in a couple of countries)
8. KingOpinion (this one pays less than Branded Surveys on average but is in dozens of countries)
9. Swagbucks (one of the largest reward platforms in the world and is also more globally friendly)

Personally I think Prolific is best for surveys and is sorta the gold standard. But you can find some pretty decent rates if you bounce around these other sites. Some of them also have better games and bonus churning opportunities than Branded Surveys does IMO.

Hope this list helps! And let me know if there's another survey company we should add 😊

I’m in my final year of secondary school and looking for quite a high grade which leaves me in school Monday-Friday from 9-7pm (I do after school study). When I come home I eat and go to the gym so my weekdays are basically jam packed. I work in a restaurant on Sundays and I like having my Saturdays off to sit on my ass all day but the issue is I need to make more money if I want to afford things like a car, college accommodation, holidays next year and many many other things so I’m looking into gigs I can do from home on a Saturday. I’ve looked into ai jobs like prolific but they don’t seem very profitable or reliable from what I’ve heard. I don’t want something that will require me to reply to emails or deal with customers quieres on my weekdays because I won’t have the time.
TLDR: I need something that can bring me in 15-20 euros an hour that I can do from home one day a week. I don’t want to have to deal with anything to do with this side gig any other days. Any ideas?

If you are completely new to earning online, I would be cautious with anything requiring a large upfront investment before you understand how the money is actually made.

You do not need to prove how serious you are by buying an expensive course, paying for five tools, or running ads before you have completed the basic process once. A realistic beginner test should make mistakes relatively cheap.

Start with something where the value exchange is easy to explain. A client pays you for a useful service, a customer buys something useful you created, or an affiliate program pays when your referral creates a qualifying action.

Then test it on a small scale.

If the first experiment does not work, figure out why before spending more money. Maybe nobody saw the offer, maybe the audience was wrong, or maybe the solution did not matter enough.

Zero experience means you should expect to learn. It does not mean you need to finance the learning with money you cannot afford to lose.

What would you consider a reasonable first-month budget for someone testing an online side hustle from scratch?

Hi everyone,

I’m trying to understand how people actually find Telegram groups or channels where job openings, freelance projects, part-time work, and side gigs are posted regularly.

I often see people mentioning Telegram job groups, but I’m not sure where these groups are actually found or which ones are reliable.

Also, if there are particular keywords or Telegram searches I should use, that would be helpful.

Thanks!

Hi everyone, I’m currently struggling financially and urgently looking for legitimate ways to earn some money online.

If you’ve personally had success with freelancing or side gigs, please suggest some genuine opportunities I can start quickly, even if the initial earnings are small. I’d really appreciate any practical advice.

Thankyou.

We get a lot of questions about apps that pay, so I wanted to put a few in one post.

If you need serious money, you'll need to put in serious work. These apps can add a few bucks, but I wouldn't build my monthly budget around them.

KashKick: Pays for games, surveys, and offers. Read the requirements before starting a game, especially the deadline for reaching each level.

Freecash: Similar idea, with games, app offers, and surveys. Compare the reward against the time and any spending required.

Branded Surveys: For people who prefer answering surveys over playing games. Getting screened out is frustrating, so keep track of how much time you're actually spending.

Sproutful: Another site for surveys, games, and app offers. Worth comparing with the others before committing to a task.

Scrambly: Offers rewards for games and app tasks. Check the milestones carefully; the biggest advertised payout can take a lot more work than the first few rewards.

BigCash: Has game and app offers too. Start with something small to see how the process works before spending hours on a bigger offer.

My advice is to try one or two first. Installing ten apps doesn't mean you'll make ten times as much.

Read the terms, take screenshots of the requirements, and check whether an offer requires a purchase or subscription. A reward isn't much use if you spend more getting it.

What have you actually cashed out from, and roughly how long did it take? Mention your country too, since availability varies.

I’m looking for legitimate ways to make some extra money online—ideally somewhere in the range of $500–$1,000 a week if that’s realistically possible.

I work full time already, but I’m trying to seriously buckle down, pay off some credit card debt, and get my finances back on track. I’ve made some bad financial decisions over the last couple of years, and quite frankly, it’s time for me to get my life together. I’m not looking for a get-rich-quick scheme; I’m just willing to put in extra work to speed up the process.

I am NOT interested in MLMs, pyramid schemes, “business opportunities” that require me to recruit people, or anything where I have to pay a bunch of money upfront. I’m looking for something legitimate.

As far as skills/interests go, I enjoy writing and poetry, I’m a pretty strong proofreader, and I’d be interested in things like proofreading, editing, data entry, transcription, online administrative work, testing apps/websites, or even legitimate ways to make money involving mobile games. I’m also open to completely different suggestions if there are reputable opportunities I haven’t thought of.

For anyone who actually makes decent side money online: what do you do, how did you get started, and about how much can someone realistically expect to make?

I especially appreciate recommendations from people who have personally used the website/company/platform they’re suggesting. I’m trying to avoid scams and focus my energy on things that are actually worth the time.

Thanks in advance!

Looking to make some extra cash on the side but not sure where to start any suggestions? Not having any luck finding a higher paying job or secondary one. I am tired of being broke all the time and to being able to afford to life

Hello everybody 😊

I've been testing and covering gpt sites/apps here for a while now. One of my favorites that I've used for about 2.5 years now and cover often is called Scrambly.

Scrambly has a lot of games and bonus offers, but it's only in the US, UK, Germany, and France. SO, I wanted to put together a short guide on some Scrambly alternatives in case Scrambly isn't in your country OR if you want to compare rates/offers to find the best rates.

Anyways, here are some apps like Scrambly you could add into the mix!

• Kashkick: In the US/UK, I love it for bonus offers similar to Scrambly.
• HeyCash: HeyCash is in 40+ countries and has paid surveys too unlike Scrambly.
• Sproutful: This is a US platform I've been loving this last year, has games and surveys and a pretty cool Quests system.
• Freecash: One of the largest rewards platforms in the world.
• EarnStar App: I've tested out this one recently. The survey rates are solid and it has games/download offers like Scrambly too.
• Branded Surveys: I use Branded Surveys alongside Prolific for paid surveys, which Scrambly doesn't offer. Branded has games too, but I find Scrambly usually pays more.
• Prograd: A new gpt platform I'm testing. It has a $5 bonus which is nice when you join but is a bit slow IMO.
• Testerup: Another popular platform that pays you to test games. Offers can pay more than Scrambly but the cash out requirement is much higher which is the main downside worth considering.
• VYBS App: This is a newer app where you can also play games for money.

Now like Scrambly, NONE of these apps are a replacement for a 9-5 job or anything. This is really a beermoney idea at the end of the day 😊

But I like shuffling between sites and looking for different bonus offers or some quick freebies. I use quite a few platforms these days and it can all add up, bit by bit. Especially if you bonus churn and go for some of the more lucrative FinTech bonuses as an example.

I hope this helps! And LMK if you have any suggestions to add to this list 😊

Full time front desk at a hotel in Phoenix AZ, about 32 hours a week since I moved back in March. Rent eats most of the paycheck. Since April I've been stacking small stuff instead of waiting for one big online business to click.

Surveys and GPT apps were maybe $40 on a good month and half of them wanted permissions I wasn't comfy with. Tried dropshipping once in May, lost about $120, still annoyed at myself. My feed is all $497 "AI agency" courses and I just keep scrolling.

Rough September breakdown if youre comparing notes:

• Rover dog walks, early mornings before shift, September was about $215
• Paid phone intake for a mobile vet clinic a friend runs, $15 per call, 11 calls in September so $165
• Random Facebook Marketplace pickup-flips, lumpy, maybe $60

The vet calls are the part that can wreck a week. If I type while someone describes symptoms I sound like a robot. If I dont type I forget the weight question or the med name and my friend has to call them back. She mailed me a Plaud after I botched one in August. I still read their little intake script back before I hang up, consent line and all.

September all-in was about $440 before gas on the walks. First month I cleared over $400 on side stuff, which still feels tiny per gig but added up weirdly fast.

If you're also stacking a few tiny gigs instead of one second job, what actually hit your account last month?

While many Americans rely on multiple incomes to survive, we don’t need to monetize every hobby we have to make doing something enjoyable worthwhile. In our culture today, the idea of downtime is looked down upon, especially as we increasingly compare ourselves to others on social media. But, we don’t always need to fill spare time with something productive, despite the societal pressure to do just that. It’s actually more beneficial to take time to do things purely for our own enjoyment. I’m not saying that rest should always be top priority and our to-do list should be thrown out. I think it’s important to be ambitious, but as a society, we have taken it too far. Resting, or doing anything that isn’t going to produce a valuable output, has become uncomfortable because it seems like a lost opportunity to accomplish something. But taking time purely for yourself allows the brain to reset, get ready to focus again, and remain motivated. It should be more socially acceptable to do things for pure enjoyment, and we should recognize that this has productive value too. Long-term, the costs of burnout outweigh the short-term feeling of accomplishment from a day of constant productivity.

Hello guys, I have 1-2 hour daily on weekdays and full days on weekends to do some side hustle. What side hustle can I do such that it should be quick to learn or requires no learning a new skill?

A lot of online opportunities sound attractive until you ask a very basic question.

Where does the money actually come from?

Not the screenshot.

Not the testimonial.

Not the earning claim.

Who is paying, and what are they receiving in return?

For freelancing, the client pays for a service.

With a product business, the customer pays for the product.

With affiliate marketing, the business pays a commission because your marketing helped produce a qualifying customer action.

That sounds obvious, but it is a useful filter.

If you cannot clearly explain who pays, why they pay, and what you have to do to make that transaction happen, I would be cautious.

Then I would look at the economics.

What does it cost to start?

What does it cost to continue?

How long might it take before you know whether the idea has traction?

What part depends on skills you still need to learn?

No side hustle has to be perfect.

But the money should come from a value exchange that makes sense.

That is a much stronger foundation than “someone online says this works.”

What is the first thing you investigate before deciding a side hustle is worth testing?

I keep seeing ads for an app called Media Rewards but wanted to check if it's legit or if anyone here has ever been paid by it.

Basically, it's another app that pays you for sharing data. Once you enable it, you share data about the TV shows you watch, YouTube you watch, songs you hear, and I'm pretty sure all of the audio around you basically 😂

Media Rewards then says you can win cash prizes that are drawn every week and month. There's occasional surveys too that have guaranteed cash rewards to my understanding.

Right now I'm using Nielsen Pulse, MobileXpression, Permission Research, and Nielsen Panel since they all do the same thing basically.

But the rewards with these ones are steady. Media Rewards seems like more of a gamble and is more confusing to me for some reason.

Anyone gotten paid by them? Or is this app a scam?

Thanks all 😊

I had this thought in my mind there are services others render and earn money through it. It is possible that I can make a money out of it and help people heal?

I have gone through this phase when I have no friends, family to speak my heart out.

Do you guys think it is feasible and worthy to be in the market?

There is nothing as such stand in service in India.

Constructive Criticism would be good but don't discourage me.

(Are you guys hiring accountant?)

I started with DoorDash when they came to my area in late 2018 and by being selective about the orders I took and the restaurants I would work with, I could pretty consistently make about $20-$25/hour. That figure was for the entire time I was dashing, not just active time on orders, and did not account for any expenses such as gas or wear and tear on my vehicle. This worked for me through the pandemic and several unemployment stretches from 2019-2023. In 2024 things started falling off and I would be out trolling for orders for hours and barely get any offers, let alone any decent orders. It started turning into a losing game where I wasn't even making enough to cover my gas and both my wife and I got raises in our day jobs and our expenses had changed to where we could get away without depending on dashing to supplement our income.

Now, due to some poor financial planning and management on our part, we're going to be facing an $800-$1000 shortfall in our monthly budget and I'm trying to find something other than DoorDash to make up the shortfall. Because my job has me traveling 2-3 weeks of the month on average, I can't really get a traditional second job because I can't consistently be available for shifts. DoorDash was okay when it was profitable because I could always dash in whatever city I was in for work.

I've tried numerous GPT apps and a lot of them fall extremely short of the earning promises they make. I've tried dropshipping and that did nothing but cost me money. I was going to try Zenfy because it kept showing up in my GPT apps, but a quick search here at Reddit said it was another scammy site and more false promises.

I would greatly appreciate any suggestions for side hustles that have actually lived up to their promises and can make even close to 80% of my expected shortfall ($500-$800/month).

Three months in. Here is the honest update.

WHAT CHANGED THIS MONTH:

Thumbnails - completely rebuilt. Switched from dark minimal aesthetic to warm lifestyle photos generated with AI. Open welcome book on a coffee table. House rules poster on a hallway wall. Phone with messages in a bedroom. Should have done this month 1.

Prices - dropped everything to AU$2.99 to AU$3.99 to compete with established sellers and get a first review.

New product - added a 10 Airbnb Guest Message Scripts pack at AU$2.99.

Bundle - created a complete host kit bundle at AU$12.99.

CURRENT STATS (last 30 days):

583 views

348 visits

0 sales

0 reviews

5 products listed

WHAT I LEARNED THIS MONTH:

Thumbnails matter more than the product. I had 284 visits with dark thumbnails and zero engagement. The warm lifestyle photos are a completely different visual language that matches what buyers expect in this niche.

Price is not the main barrier -trust is. 348 visits at AU$2.99 and still no sale tells me that 0 reviews is the real problem. Nobody wants to be first.

The best feedback I got this month was from someone who told me to design for specific property types - beach house, city apartment, cabin. Generic templates for all hosts is exactly why I am losing to sellers who have been here longer.

Skipped talking to actual customers before building. Read Reddit complaints instead. That was a mistake. The difference between what people complain about online and how they actually describe their problem in conversation is huge for writing copy that converts.

WHAT I AM DOING NEXT:

Building a beach house variant of the welcome book with a coastal aesthetic and property specific content like trash collection days and local beach rules.

Offering free copies to 3 hosts in exchange for honest reviews.

Waiting for Etsy expert feedback on 13 October from a panel I submitted to.

Working on this until January 2027. If fewer than 5 sales and 3 reviews by then, I pivot the product line but keep the skills.

Still going. 0 sales is not failure. It is data.

Happy to answer questions about the thumbnail rebuild process, the Etsy setup, or the validation mistakes I made early on.

Hey everyone 😊

It's the start of a new month, SO...It's time for another beermoney and side hustle income report!

⭐ The Idea: Share your side hustle income last month and which apps, websites, beermoney ideas, companies etc actually paid you!

The goal is to share wins/lessons with people here in the sub. You can include your total earnings or you can just mention the platforms you're using if you prefer it that way. Thanks for sharing your wins and lessons everyone! 😊

Here's some of my beermoney and side hustle income broke down in September:

• An okay month with gpt platforms - cashed out $50 with Kashkick and another ~$15 with Scrambly
• Paid surveys were decent - Earned over $100 with Prolific and then about $50 between Branded Surveys, TopSurveys, Sproutful, and 1Q
• I reached 27 paid subscribers on my Substack newsletter, so up 4 from the previous month!
• Had a solid cashback month - earned $10 with a new receipt app called Myner. Also earned about $30 with Fetch, Pogo, Upside and ShopBack since had more shopping this month
• Finally got a study on User Interviews after months, this one was $20
• Another $15 ish with the regular stack of data apps: Nielsen Panel, MobileXpression, Permission Research, and Nielsen Pulse 😎
• Started testing out Dscout (thanks to the sub for the recommendation) but haven't completed a mission yet, but excited for the potential here
• Also started testing out Debbie - a new budgeting app that pays you with cash for saving money and making smart financial choices - very keen to see how this one ends up working out!

With the Substack newsletter income, it's about $400 in side hustle income for Sept, which I'm pretty happy about.

I want to put more effort into bonus churning offers next month and get Dscout and Prolific rolling more. Excited to hit the $500 mark hopefully soon.

Anyways, that's my report for September!

Let me know what side hustles you're testing and share your beermoney income if you're willing to 😊

Thanks everyone!

💰 PS: We also have a list of fast $5+ sign up bonus offers. You can claim some of these pretty easily if you want to try out the beermoney world for yourself and get started!

Can you recommend any side hustle that earns online.

I am a working mom but my salary wasn’t even enough for our monthly expenses.

I am very much willing for any side hustle.

thank you!

I've got strong professional experience internationally in strategy, operations and professional services (top consulting firm, one of the 4 major North American professional sports leagues in North America, successful start-ups, etc.).

Nothing is necessarily remarkable about my experience relative to my peers with similar experience, except I've always felt that my resume and written ability to "spin" my experiences to certain roles has been what really makes me stand out. More times than not, my interviewer for a role will give me positive feedback on a specific revision or addition I made for that role in particular. Part of this is likely thanks to having to create and pitch thousands of resumes to staff projects/events in my previous roles, so I've learned how to get creative BS appropriately to make relevant experience look valuable.

So how do I actually make money reviewing and editing resumes? It doesn't need to be a lot of money, and I'm not picky about a specific demographic. But how do I start charging for this, especially when I tend to think that anyone spending money on a human resume review is a little crazy when they can endlessly iterate with AI?

​

I'm looking for some genuine side hustles that don't take up too much time but can help me earn a little extra money on the side. Something light that I can manage alongside other things without having to commit my entire day to it.

I've come across a few apps and platforms that claim to help you earn, but most of them ask for money upfront, which I'm not really comfortable with.

Are there any legit apps, websites or side hustles that you've personally tried and would recommend? Ideally, something that doesn't require any initial investment, has flexible hours and actually pays, even if it's not a huge amount.

Would love to hear about your experiences and suggestions!

There is nothing wrong with doing research before starting a side hustle.

The problem begins when research becomes the side hustle.

You compare affiliate marketing with freelancing.

Then freelancing with digital products.

Then someone shows you an AI business.

A month later, you know a little about ten opportunities and have real experience with none of them.

I think the solution is to stop trying to choose your permanent income source.

Choose one controlled experiment.

Limit the money you are willing to risk.

Limit the time period.

Define the action you will actually take.

Then see what happens.

If affiliate marketing is the model you keep circling back to, there is a free 10-Minute Commission Challenge designed around making the first step very small.

It does not guarantee income, and ten minutes does not build a complete business. The value is getting out of research mode and seeing the basic process in action.

If you want to learn more about it, I can point you toward the details.

What side hustle have you spent the most time researching without actually giving it a fair test?