11 proven ways to make Money by Watching Videos Online.
If you ever wish you could get paid to watch videos online, we have some very good news – you can. Here’s how.
Introduction
Making money from watching videos is a lot easier than you might think. And considering you’re probably going to be spending a lot of your time watching movies, clips, and ads online anyway, this is such an easy way to make some extra cash in your free time.
It’s an ideal way to make money alongside similar ventures like starting a YouTube channel. Plus, all that video-related work experience could greatly enhance your resume and help you land a film, television, or digital media-related job.
There are many ways to watch videos for money, and we’re going to go through the best options here.
How to get paid for watching videos
Here are the best ways to watch videos and make money:
1. Watch videos for money on Swagbucks
If you haven’t already, joining Swagbucks is a great way to earn rewards for watching videos, surfing the web, and completing paid online surveys.
The types of videos shown to you on Swagbucks vary, but you can expect many short clips such as ads, news content, and viral videos.
Watching videos on the site may not earn you large amounts of money or “Swagbuck points” (aka SB), but since it’s such easy money, it’s worth a try.
Using Swagbucks alongside the other suggestions on this list will quickly add up to your earnings.
2. Write subtitles for films as a freelancer
Especially if you want to build your CV with film experience, it is worth considering writing subtitles for videos online on a freelance basis.
Video content creators are often looking for freelancers who can write subtitles for their films, potentially making them more accessible to people with hearing loss, or upload transcripts when posting YouTube videos.
Since writing subtitles and transcripts can be quite time-consuming, video makers may be looking for freelancers to do it for them – and that’s where you come in.
You can find freelancers who will write video captions for a fee on sites like Fiverr. Check out what other freelancers are charging to get an idea of pricing, and post rates you think are fair but competitive.
However, as a guide, we’ve seen that freelancers on Fiverr often start their prices at around £4 to write captions.
Bonus: If you speak another language, that’s even better as you can charge extra for translating videos on a freelance basis. Not to mention that it will impress future employers.
See Here: Making Money on Youtube Easily with Those Simple Steps
3. Earn money watching videos on InboxPounds
InboxPounds works similarly to Swagbucks, allowing you to make money for super simple things like watching videos and taking surveys.
Again, you might not make big bucks, but the more tasks you complete besides watching videos, the more money you can make.
Even reading emails with offers from InboxPounds or searching the web on the search page can make you money.
You can sign up for InboxPounds here.
4. Become a Film and Television Critic
If you hope to make a living from watching videos, becoming a film or television critic is probably the best and most established option.
Writing about videos as a full-time job is by no means easy, but with hard work, dedication, and strong writing skills, you can make it happen.
Film and TV criticism are very competitive jobs. So if you are thinking about writing on a freelance basis, the first thing you need to do is ask for lower prices that match your level of experience.
But remember, you deserve to be paid for your writing, so don’t accept payments lower than you think are fair just for starting.
To prepare for a full-time job as a film or television critic, it’s worth considering internships to boost your resume. Unfortunately, not all journalism internships pay well (or in some cases not at all), but check out PressPad for help with London accommodation during internship placements.
And if you’re on an unpaid internship, our guide to financial support during your internship can help.
Once you start building your review portfolio and making a name for yourself, you can gradually increase your rates and take larger commissions.
Presenting article ideas about movies and TV shows to editors
To get freelance film or television review work, it pays to start a blog to showcase your writing style and talent.
Then, find hired editors of relevant publications, reach out to them directly (by addressing them by their name in emails), and pitch them your idea. Link to your portfolio or blog site at the end of your pitch so they can see what you can do.
Be confident with your article ideas, keep the pitch short, and don’t let rejection discourage you. Go ahead and hopefully over time you can make some money writing about your favorite movies and TV shows.
5. InboxDollars
InboxDollars pays you cash (not points) for watching things like TV shows, movie previews, cooking commercials, and more.
As a general rewards site like Swagbucks (the two sites are owned by the same parent company), you can also make extra money by taking online surveys, reading emails, using their cash back shopping portal, and redeeming their printable coupons.
Find out more about how the site works in our comprehensive InboxDollars review.
The site has a strong reputation (it has paid out over $59 million in rewards to its members), and both its iOS and Android apps have solid reviews from over 100,000 reviewers on each platform. Note, however, that you can only get paid for watching videos through your desktop browser, not in the apps.
Receive a $5 bonus when you sign up and activate your account. Unlike Swagbucks, there is no need to use the InboxDollars cashback shopping portal to earn this bonus.
Note that the only downside to InboxDollars is the $30 minimum withdrawal. If you mainly use the site to watch videos (which don’t pay very much per view) it will take a while to reach that threshold.
For those who shop online frequently or don’t mind taking surveys, hitting the $30 benchmark will come to a lot quicker.
6. Watch Video Ads on WeAre8 For Revenue or Charity
Are you hoping to make money and make a positive impact by watching ads? WeAre8 could be the app for you.
Like some of the others on this list, WeAre8 is an app that lets you make money by watching videos, but with one small difference: not only do you make money to top up your bank balance, you also have the option to contribute to do charitable causes.
After watching ads on this platform, you will be asked to answer a few quick questions and you can earn 10p to 20p per video.
Once you reach the minimum withdrawal amount (£1) by watching branded video ads, there are three ways you can withdraw the money: it could be deposited into your PayPal account, it could automatically pay your EE mobile bill, or you can give it to a charity of your choice.
An added (and pretty nice) bonus is that every time you watch a video on the app, brands also donate to charity.
Would you like to register? You can do this here.
7. Watch Commercials, TV Trailers, and More for Money on Slicethepie
Slicethepie is a review site where you can earn points by doing many very simple things like watching interesting videos, listening to music, and answering survey questions.
The videos contain commercials and clips such as trailers for movies and TV shows.
The minimum withdrawal is $10 (approx £7.40) deposited into your PayPal account. Since they read all reviews before making payments, you may have to wait up to five business days for the withdrawal request to be processed.
You can sign up here and learn more in our guide to evaluating Slicethepie.
8. Participate in Paid Psychological Studies
If you are interested in participating in psychological and behavioral studies, this could be a good way for you to make money watching videos.
The amount you can receive in compensation for conducting psychological studies depends heavily on the type of study and how long it lasts, but you can get up to £100 for your time.
But beware: We recommend that you only register for a course if you want to, and not just to earn money. Depending on the type of study, they can be emotionally or mentally challenging, so only participate in those you are comfortable with.
How to find psychological studies
As with all clinical trials, it is important to focus on trustworthy organizations when enrolling in psychological trials.
When looking for legitimate paid psychology studies, we recommend focusing on studying at universities.
First, contact your university’s psychology department to see if there are any upcoming studies you could participate in. This would be the best and easiest way to attend one.
But if that’s not possible, you could look into studying at other universities. To focus your search, try typing “[university name] psychological studies” into Google as this should bring up the relevant page on the university’s website.
There you will find call-outs for study participants and instructions on how to apply.
Or you can always contact a university psychology department directly by phone or email to learn more about their upcoming studies.
Universities will often say they are looking for “volunteers” to study, but these opportunities usually still include some form of compensation (either in cash or in the form of vouchers) for your time and expenses.
For example, you can register as a participant in research studies on the University of Cambridge website. Although they ask for volunteers, they offer participants “modest financial compensation.”
Read Also: How to Start a Profitable YouTube Channel from Scratch in 2023
Not all studies are guaranteed to include videos, but look out for ones that resonate with you and your interests.
9. Earn Money by Watching Videos on PrizeRebe
PrizeRebel is a website where you can make money by watching videos – something that requires so little work that it’s almost free money.
You can claim the money you have earned through the site as PayPal money or as gift cards. If you withdraw the funds through PayPal, there is a minimum withdrawal of $5 (around £3.70).
If you redeem your points for a voucher, the minimum payout may be lower than when using PayPal. For example, you can use your points to get a $2 Amazon Gift Card (about £1.50).
If you redeem the points earned through the website, your cash/gift cards will be processed and sent to you within 24 hours.
In addition to watching videos, you can also take paid online surveys and refer friends to PrizeRebel to increase your earnings.
It’s also worth checking out PrizeRebel’s social media pages, where updates are posted and opportunities to earn bonus points are shared.
10, Promote Video for Business Online
Not only can they get paid to watch videos, but they can also hire companies to promote their clips and ads online.
Sponsored posts are a common way of making money for online influencers. While this doesn’t necessarily require a huge online following, it would help if you had a decent number of followers on social media and/or your blog.
The larger your audience, the more you can charge companies for sharing their content.
Of course, it’s important to make sure the videos you promote are of good quality and relevant to your audience, as sharing content that your followers aren’t engaging with could impact your online brand.
Try reaching out directly to the influencer marketing departments of brands you identify with and are interested in to discuss the possibility of collaborating on a sponsored video post.
Or, especially if you have a smaller online following, you can always use freelance sites like Fiverr to find companies that would be happy to pay you a small fee to share their video content online.
11. Mypoints
MyPoints pays you points for watching videos, taking surveys, printing co, upon, and playing games.
Your points can be redeemed through gift cards, PayPal money, and even travel points. The site’s minimum payout is around $3 depending on the option you choose, which isn’t too difficult for most users given the multitude of ways to make money on the platform.
It’s worth noting that MyPoints has two separate apps: the main MyPoints mobile app and Daily Scoop, which is dedicated solely to video content.
Unfortunately, Daily Scoop is only available for Android devices, and some reviewers have reported that it doesn’t always have a full inventory of videos.
You can earn a $10 sign-up bonus by spending at least $20 through the MyPocashback back shopping portal.
See Also: How to Start Earning from Home: Quick Cash Tips for Any Schedule
Conclusion
Watching videos for money can be a fun and quick way to make some extra cash in your free time or get a free Amazon gift card. However, the payout per hour can be quite low, so you need to approach this with realistic expectations.
Because of this, our favorite sites usually have some other way of making money such as B. Cashback shopping or surveys – activities that pay more on an hourly basis. This gives you the greatest chance of reaching the minimum withdrawal amount.
And of course, the amount you earn depends on the time you are willing to invest. Becoming a content creator—whether it’s blogging about movies, freelance writing, or making your videos—offers by far the best earning opportunities.