Rewarding Reviews

Blockbuster going away - Cya!

2007-07-27T10:23:00.001-07:00

Well, Blockbuster has decided to pause their online marketing efforts on Monday. I recently got this notice:

Blockbuster Total Access offers (4765, 4764, 4540) - will be paused on Monday July 30th
Blockbuster Total Access offers (4656, 4657, 898) - will be paused on Monday July 30th

Too bad, but I did predict this back in June.

Paid surveys - a great list of paid surveys

2007-07-27T09:11:00.000-07:00

Ever wanted to take paid surveys? Well now you can.

There are lots of sites out there that want you to cough up your hard earned cash for a list of paid survey companies, but we have put together a list for you so you can make some money with paid surveys at no cost to you :D

Take a look at a great list of survey resources.

Making Waves - Vote for us!

2007-07-27T07:18:00.000-07:00

Vote for us on Netscape

Thanks for the help!

New Offers you can be paid to review!

2007-07-25T04:51:00.000-07:00

This morning we are happy to add some new offers:

Alura Teeth Whitening System - Pays $10.00

AutoVantage - Pays $11.00

Magazine Burst! - Pays $14.00

Remember, we are also giving away FREE money as part of the Rewarding Reviews $50,000 giveaway - simply join and click on the Recommended Offers link to see the details of how you can cash in.

We are giving away $50,000 - Get your share now!

2007-07-24T13:54:00.001-07:00

We are giving away $50,000 - Get your share now!

Rewarding Reviews is a great opportunity for bloggers to make a little extra money writing sponsored reviews of products and services, help us get going by writing about the service!

Sign up and click on Recommended Offers to get your $10 now!

Check it out, we are on Squidoo!

2007-07-24T12:01:00.000-07:00

We just launched Rewarding Reviews as a Squidoo Lens. Take a look here, and if you like what you see, leave a comment or a rating!

Get paid to listen to music - $5.00 from eMusic

2007-07-24T06:54:00.000-07:00

If you're a music lover this offer is for you. Sign-up for eMusic's Free Trial and you can get 25 free downloads. The downloads work with any mp3 player or iPod and there are over 2,000,000 songs to chose from.

Credit card is required for the offer but it is not charged until the trial period is over.

Rewarding Reviews members earn $5.00 just for trying out this offer.

Get paid to surf the net - new offer

2007-07-24T06:39:00.000-07:00

Become a Nielsen family with Netratings

Nielsen family members have been influential in determining the popularity of television programs for over 50 years. This is an easy sign up. Surfers have a chance to win a grand prize $10,000 while participating in internet monitoring and measuring of website popularity.

Rewarding Reviews members earn $5.00 when they sign up for Nielsen Netratings.

New Advertiser: 1-800-PetMeds

2007-07-23T08:30:00.000-07:00

1-800-PetMeds America's Largest Pet Pharmacy Save up to $20 Now! plus Free Priority Shipping on orders over $39.

Shop and Compare! Do you really save money on your pet medication with 1-800-PetMeds ? Your review must mention by name the drugs you ordered for your pet(s).

Get a discount on pet medication AND earn $12.00 for an approved review of 1-800-PetMeds.

Affordable jewelry auctions - Earn $17 by blogging about Bidz

2007-07-18T09:07:00.000-07:00

Well, if you like affordable jewelry, Bidz is a great auction house to check out.

eBay might have a hold on auctions for all sorts of electronics, clothes, shoes, and anything under the sun, but Bidz has the market cornered on affordable jewelry.

Sign-up for your free Bidz.com account and start bidding.

Rewarding Reviews members get a 10 percent discount on their first purchase!

Free Gas Cards for all! Fill up on us, AND earn an easy $15.00 today!

2007-07-18T08:40:00.000-07:00

My Survey Rewards is offering Rewarding Reviews Members a chance to review trial memberships to the "Key Club Save" and the "Key Voip LD" clubs where they can receive discounts at over 150,000 retail locations across the US. New members will also receive a $50 gift card for free gas.

Initial cost to the consumer is $1.04 charged twice (once for each club).

In addition to free gas, you can also earn $15.00 for an approved review of this offer.

Cost: $2.08
Pays: $15.00
Bonus: $50.00 Gas Card

Join Rewarding Reviews now to take advantage of this offer.

Special Announcement, New Offers Added, Money for Bonuses Too!

2007-07-18T08:25:00.000-07:00

Two special announcements: First you can get more traffic to your blog from Rewarding Reviews. As of yesterday afternoon, reviews now appear on our home-page! Every approved review will get a link from our homepage until it is pushed off by another. Take a look for yourself: www.rewardingreviews.com

Second: Get a $5.00 bonus when you request a payment for the first time, and a $5.00 bonus for each new member you refer who completes one approved review.

Plus, I thought I would point out a few offers that you might have missed, these free offers can all be found in the RECOMMENDED category:

eFax - Pays $12.00
Netflix - Pays $25.00
Stamps.com - Pays $15.00
Blockbuster - Pays $25.00
American Express - Pays $25.00
Vonage - Pays $40.00

New Offers:
Vytalin Male Enhancement - Paying $20.00
Obopay - Paying $5.00 * Plus a $10 Bonus in your Obopay account

Now is the best time to get started with Rewarding Reviews - with over 80 different offers you can review and more added weekly, you can earn big from your blog, even if you do not have one yet!

Blog Catalog

2007-07-18T08:19:00.000-07:00

I recently came across a nice little site: Blog Catalog - For those of you looking for an extra source of traffic, this one might work out well for you.

Anything 4 Free Forums takes action

2007-06-15T14:26:00.000-07:00

Well it looks like the administrators and moderators at Anything 4 Free, a large community of people who enjoy freebie sites have decided to take action:

Quote: Update #5: NEW RULE: Effective immediately, any use of, selling, or promotion of of prepaid cards or virtual credit cards will get you placed on hold on the majority of freebie networks as well as banned from Anything4Free. So don't use 'em! If anyone has any knowledge of someone using a prepaid/virtual/stolen cc, please report this user to a staff person.

I for one, am glad and I hope that FreeIpodGuide and other freebie forums follow their lead.

Speculation: What offer is going down next

2007-06-15T14:23:00.000-07:00

My dire prediction: Blockbuster will pull down their payout for new sign ups if they do not pull out of incentive traffic altogether.

What do YOU think?

Some New Offers! MaxBounty Has Lots!

2007-06-15T14:04:00.000-07:00

Well, it looks like site owners are going to have to hunt up some new offers, and I have already started looking :D

I think that anyone who hasn't already done so should look to MaxBounty as an incentive friendly publisher, and they have some excellent offers that *still* currently accept incentive traffic. Among the offers I have found that still accept incentive traffic:

Efax - Free Trial!
Creative Painting Book Club
American Compass Book Club
Passport to Fun - $25 Gas Card ($1 Trial)
Today's Escapes: $1 Trial + $25 Gift Card ($1 Trial)
At Home Rewards ($1 Trial)
Sleep Rite - Free Trial
Quickbooks Business Kit - This one is VERY popular
Zoeta
Ultima Patch
Privacy Matters - Free Credit Report
FREE eBay Auction Success Kit Also pupular

Freebie Site Owners Respond to Black Thursday announcements

2007-06-15T13:48:00.000-07:00

Well, since Black Thursday there has been some heated discussions as to how site owners should respond. Some of you must be wondering, what are some of the things that site owners can do in response to what is the biggest shake-up in the incentive industry since Tickle?

Well, for starters we have basically all come to the conclusion that responsible site owners must begin performing additional verifications to ensure that members of our sites are actually legitimate users.

Telephone verification of members and certainly orders has been mentioned, as has forcing members to receive a physical gift (such as a check) prior to any electronic funds transfer. Both ideas are excellent.

Many site owners will be paying out on a Net 30 or even a Net 45 schedule to protect themselves, owners that do not make this change and continue to pay instantly, or on a 7 day schedule risk losing thousands or even tens of thousands of dollars in reversals due to the fraudsters who will flock to their sites.

Speaking of reversals:

As it stands right now, nobody is exactly sure what kind of reversals we are already looking at for this month. I personally lost almost $500 to reversed leads from 60 days ago, I won't mention the network or the offer, but It was painful. I run a small site, I can only imagine what is coming for larger publishers.

Shocker - Azoogle Drops payout on Blockbuster offers

2007-06-15T11:36:00.000-07:00

Well, this is a twist, I just logged into my azoogle account to get a new image for the blockbuster ad I am running and WOW The payout has dropped BIG TIME.

Azoogle had Blockbuster running at $50 (for non-incentive publishers) but at some point it dropped and is now paying out $25.

This actually puts the free trial for incentive publishers at a solid $32, which I am guessing won't last long.

So, what is Fraud?

2007-06-15T11:32:00.000-07:00

Well, fraud can be many things, but my advice for members of the "freebie scene" who are reading this is simple:

An advertiser considers it fraud when someone signs up with a gift card or a prepaid visa card and lets the trial end. The advertiser tries to charge the card for the full cost of membership and finds that there are no funds available.

It is fraud to sign up for an offer with a prepaid credit card #, the advertiser has NO chance whatsoever to keep you as a paying customer.

Anyone signing up for offers with PrePaid Credit cards, or anyone discussing this type of activity will be banned.

Eric

CPA Storm makes some suggestions

2007-06-15T09:59:00.001-07:00

This just came in from Melissa at CPAStorm

Hi Eric,

As our industry evolves CPA Storm continue to evolve to make sure that both our business and your business will continue to grow and have longevity in our industry. Being an incentive publisher I am sure you are aware of the changes being made and what the future holds for our business model. As your affiliate manager with CPA Storm I want to make sure that you are doing everything that you can to make sure that you are taking the needed steps so your business will thrive in the years to come. There are several things you can do to make sure you are limiting fraudulent behavior. Here are a few steps I recommend.

1) Paying your users on a net 30 basis
2) Converting from a cash system into a points based system
3) Have measures in place to prevent gift card and debit card purchases
4) Installing a double opt in process
5) Phone verification of your users
6) Using something like gift cards as a form of payment instead of using PayPal

If you have any questions regarding any of this information please contact me.

I replied and asked her exactly how she feels that an incentive publisher can prevent gift card and prepaid card usage... I can't wait to hear what she says!

Update:
I got a reply back, and as I thought, the suggestion is insightful and makes sense:

You are correct that the advertiser ultimately is in control of what type of method of payment is used when completing the offer. As a publisher you can warn your users that if this form of payment is used they will not be rewarded. I understand it is not a fail proof system, but I think it could scare some fraudulent users.

Taken from a thread at A4F forums

2007-06-15T09:50:00.000-07:00

Quote:
Do you allow users to use PrePaid Cards to do offers ?

Lately, there have been many revokes due to this, and we are considering making a new policy that anybody using Pre Paids can be disqualified.

It seems it is a group of frauders, just like SlickDeal and TRAINN sites, who are using PrePaids to do $1 trials. After the trial, the charge is denied and lead revoked.

Not to mention, these people insist on paying them the same day and do not (at least not yet) have provided ID's to verify the identity.

Source

MY thoughts on this statement: Exactly. Prepaid cards are something that the average incentive site owner can do little about, merchants and payment gateways should investigate how they can eliminate this from happening, and soon.

MaxBounty pulling Bargain offers

2007-06-15T09:37:00.000-07:00

I got this message about 2 hours ago. and a matching one for Bargain.com Autos.

I have already pulled the offers, I have a feeling that they might not track right now anyways!

Hello Eric. "Bargain.com Homes" is being paused temporarily at the merchant's request as of Sunday, June 17, 2007 at 11:59 p.m. ET. We will keep you updated regarding the offer's return.

We will be redirecting the traffic to "At Home Rewards - $25 Walmart Gift Card", but please ensure that you replace your links before the deadline.

Thanks for your cooperation,

The MaxBounty Team

Instant Dollarz Pulls back offers!

2007-06-15T09:24:00.000-07:00

Wow, Black Thursday was rough everywhere, take a look at this from Instant Dollarz:

2007-06-14: Ikea Vouchers (UK), Valued Opinions (US), Clash: Bravia (UK), Clash: PS3 (UK), Clash: Caribbean Holiday (UK), TheConsumerBeat: Free Gas for a Year, TheConsumerBeat: Mexico Trip for 2, TheConsumerBeat: Pontiac GTO, TheConsumerBeat: 60GB iPod, Clash: Sainsbury's Vouchers, Get Me Gaming (UK), Get Me a Ticket (UK), Clash: B&Q Vouchers (UK), Bargain Network: Hud Homes (C), FTD White Label, CE: Harley Road King, TheConsumerBeat: Eclipse Spyder, WinningSurveys: $1,500 AMEX GC, WinningSurveys: Lunch for a Year, and WinningSurveys: AppleTV are DOWN.

2007-06-14: WSHTS: Gas Card, WSHTS: $1500 Target GC, WSHTS: Pink iPod, EliteMate, TheConsumerBeat: Hollywood Vacation, Spyware Removal Software, Flycell: Flower Power, Flycell: Clean Green, Flycell: Clean Joke, Claim Your Vacation, Organic Bouquet, Vistaprint: 100 Free Postcards (US), RingtonePublic, Paid Surveys Unlimited, ExtraPayday.com amd Flycell: Electric Blue are DOWN.

2007-06-14: Doubleday Book Club (US), ePen Home Electrolysis, iCopyDVD, Swivel Mop, HSC: Free $500 Sears Shopping Spree, Psychic Triangle, Psychic Spell, One-Touch Can Opener, TheConsumerBeat: Weekend at the Beach, TheConsumerBeat: Hummer H3, TheConsumerBeat: Custom Chopper, US Chat: MySMSChat, Natural Cholesterol Balance 3, Official Unclaimed Funds, CollectiblesToday.com are DOWN.

2007-06-14: Vivitar Binoculars, 4 Seasons: Free Wine Refrigerator, eAuctionSuccess (US,CA), Mrs. Beasley's Valentine Sweets, Mrs Beasley's All My Heart Basket, Vistaprint: Free Sticky Notes (US), Thompson Cigar: Baker's Dozen, Vistaprint: Free Checks (US), Funk Unlimited T-shirts, eAuctionSuccess (INT'L), MasterGrip Golf Putter, Direct Wines: 4 Seasons I, SurveyPanelGroup, SuperGolfBalls, Spy Bouncer, Thompson Cigar: Powerhouse 30, Book of the Month Club, 4 Seasons Wine, Video Professor (US,CA) (C), Thompson Holiday Set, Thompson Cigar: Holiday Gift Set, Bonzai Chopper, 50 War Classics, View Catcher, SonicBlade, FTD Gifts, KnockOut Hockey, Logitech STX Webcam, GoFirstAid.com, Vistaprint Limited Time Offers, Fit in Five, Vistaprint Free Samples, Diabetic Plan, Takkle.com, BeautifulSkin.com and Kaboom NeverScrub are now DOWN.

2007-06-14: Kiss & Tell LiteLips, Omaha Steaks, Dual Action Cleanse, JWS: Plasma TV, NoPainSpray, Independence Plus Visa, Today's Escapes: Linen N'Things, TCG: Apple iPhone, The Aggressive Wealth Audio Collection, Prevention Fitness, HydraBrush, LintBeGone, Pumpone iPod Trainer, Grant Mentor, Classic 60s Music, Witchcraft Exposed, 20-Minute Facelift, MySelectGifts: $500 Pharmacy Gift Card, QuickBooks, MyFax, MySelectGifts: $500 Spa Gift Card and WWII Classics are DOWN.

LeadGains holding payment and pulling offers

2007-06-15T09:10:00.000-07:00

Looks like LeadGains is holding payments and pulling offers too.

Date: Thu, 14 Jun 2007 18:05:28 -0700 (PDT)

Effective Immediately:
* Bargain Homes, Bargain Autos, Price Store, HudhomesNow DO NOT allow cash sites. If you are running a cash site remove these offers immediately.

* ALL Verture Offers (At Home Rewards, Passport To Fun, Shopping Essentials, Valuemax, Todays Escapes) DO NOT allow Cash sites OR Point sites. If you run a cash or point site, remove these offers immediately.

* The following offers are down immediately.

- Classic Wine Selections
- People PC
- 20 Minute Facelift
- Four Seasons Wine
- Bidz.com
- eAuction Success
- eAuction Success International
- Quickbooks Simple Business Kit
- Scrapbook Club
- Payday2go.com
- Classmates.com
- Creative Painting Bookclub
- Woodworkers Bookclub
- Campaign: [Email Submit] YourTopBrands - Free Apple TV
- Campaign: YourTopBrands - Smoking Survey
- Instant Grant Finder
- Gevalia Coffee
- Google Home Business Kit
- Wines Across America

*** Also, we regret to inform everyone that payments will be delayed this month until around the 20th due to the recent rise in fraud. Payments are held until the investigation and reversals are complete. Your cooperation during this is appreciated.

--

Thanks,
Bryan VanAlmkerk

Cease and desist from Clickbooth

2007-06-14T16:50:00.000-07:00

This email just came in:

Clickbooth has quickly become the top true performance based network in
the world. We owe that success to all of our partners and to our continued emphasis and reputation on doing business only with both Quality Publishers and Quality Advertisers. As a company we came together over the past three months and have reached a decision to turn down any future business via all incentive channels
and over the next couple of weeks will be pausing the accounts to any incentive based sites in our network.

As a team we decided this channel strategy on a long term basis, no matter how much emphasis is placed on quality and compliance is destined to be unsuccessful and goes
against our core company emphasis on quality.

We ask that you make the necessary arrangements to cease all traffic within the next 72 hours; however, your account will not be terminated. We greatly value the
relationship that we have established, and want to focus on various marketing methods that will be beneficial to all parties involved. Your account will be paused until we are contacted with an alternative method you have for promoting our offers. Should you decide to take part in any non-incentive projects, we will reactivate your account and you will be placed with a specialized affiliate manager in the
corresponding department.

If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact your affiliate manager or speak to the head of the Incentive Department:

Jen Sangbush

The Begining of the end - The Death of the incentive affiliate marketer

2007-06-14T13:49:00.000-07:00

Call it Black Thursday.

Today some very big names in incentive marketing are pulling out, leaving incentive publishers grasping at straws and wondering who is next.

For those of you who have no idea what incentive marketing is: Ever see an ad that offers you a free iPod in exchange for signing up for a trial offer and referring a few friends? That is incentive marketing: Giving the consumer an incentive (the iPod) to try out an offer from an advertiser.

Earlier this week I got an email telling me that Hydramedia was no longer accepting incentive traffic, and now I have learned that Clickbooth, PerfectPayCheck, and Netblue have followed suite.

The reasons for this massive shift in policy are simple to understand: increasing levels of fraud and extremely poor lead quality.

Fraud affects an incentive publisher, the advertiser, and the affiliate network to different degrees, however the root of the fraud is easy to discover: Greed. More and more, fradsters are using incentive publishers to launder money through stolen credit cards, false identities and disposable proxy servers, not to mention many of the members on incentive sites where users can "get paid to try offers" are there to do just that, sign up for an offer, get paid and cancel. This brings us to the second part of the problem: Poor lead quality.

Every week, hundreds of people sign up for a free trial of BLockbuster or Netflix and a few days later they cancel their membership, just for the sake of the $20-$30 that they have been promised in exchange for "signing up for a trial offer".

The combination of massive organized fraud and poor lead quality has become increasingly difficult for advertisers, networks and individual publishers to handle, and is now threatening to destroy the incentive publishing and marketing industry completely.

I hate to say it, but I picked the wrong business.

There is a storm about to break over every incentive site-owner's head: A lack of new advertisers in the incentive marketing business has left us scrambling, and now it looks like advertisers are voting with their feet and taking their traffic to more fraud-resistant networks that don't allow incentive traffic.

Over the next few days I anticipate that there will be finger-pointing and blame laid at the feet of everyone from the Incentive Publisher who owns a free ipod site, the members on his site, the affiliate networks, and the advertisers themselves. Each group can take steps to help preserve this type of marketing, but they are not easy, and they require big changes.

I asked Byron Kho, CEO of AdIntegrity/InstantDollarz Publisher Network what he thinks can be done:

"Even until today, many merchants in the incentive space are not adequately informed about how incentive leads are produced and the dangers they may face, and neither are they secured against credit card fraud. The former may be an intentional step on the part of the network or agency involved, but the latter can definitely be improved by currently available authentication methods and technologies priced only slightly higher than their current credit card merchant accounts."

Various things have been suggested to help Incentive Publishers cope with the changes, including telephone verification of new users (to deter fraud) and ending the practice of cash payments which are a common and frequently requested gift on incentive sites.

The only networks that I work with now that are large and respectable enough to still be offering incentive publishers a chance to make a decent living are MaxBounty, Azoogle and Instant Dollarz.

My bet is that at least one of these is going to pull the plug on incentive publishers, and soon. Smart money is on Azoogle, since they seem to have cut way back on adding new incentive friendly offers, and rumor has it that they will announce this soon.

Comments are welcome, if anyone has an idea of how to fix this industry from any side: Publishers, Networks, Advertisers or members of the freebie community, you are encouraged to add your thoughts. I will continue to cover this story as it happens.

Digg It!

Get Paid To Blog - Introducing Rewarding Reviews!

2007-06-10T08:13:00.000-07:00

Welcome to Rewarding Reviews, I am your host, Eric.

For years, bloggers have relied on adsense to generate revenue, recently services have sprung up that allow bloggers to try products and write reviews. This works well for established bloggers like John Chow, who earns thousands writing reviews.

The downside of most pay-per-post or paid review sites is that there are lots of established bloggers taking the high paying reviews, and it can be difficult to get your blog approved. You may wait for weeks to have an advertiser willing to let you write about their product, and even longer to get the post approved and collect your hard earned money.

RewardingReviews.com is different.

We pay you to try products and services from big name advertisers. You try the offer out, and write an honest review, and earn an average of $10-$40 per post! You can write your first review today! We only want honest reviewers, so don't feel that you need to write a glowing review every time. Once your review has been checked and approved, you get paid on the 25th of the following month.

Get Paid to Write Rewarding Reviews on your blog.

Rewarding Reviews is for Bloggers, Myspace Members, Facebook Users, Site Owners, and Anyone with an opinion.

If you don't have a blog, you can always start one! We have links inside to lots of great services where you can blog for free.

How to Get Paid for Renting and Watching Free Movies

2007-05-15T12:34:00.000-07:00

Well, it had to happen, Blockbuster launched a DVD by mail service to compete with Netflix. Which is better? You tell us and you can earn $50.00

Here is how this one works: write a Rewarding Review about Blockbuster Online (Blockbuster Total Access) and you will be paid $25.00, if you review Netflix, you can earn $25.00.

Why not try both! Netflix is offering a free trial, and so is Blockbuster!

Reviews should focus on customer service, the movies that you rented, average shipping time, and the selection of movies available.

Ready to get started? Login and click the Offers link at the top of the members section to sign up with Blockbuster and Netflix.

Not a member yet? Join Rewarding Reviews today.

Get Paid To Play Video Games

2007-05-15T09:49:00.000-07:00

Do you like to play video Games? Do you want to get paid to play video games?

For a limited time you can earn $32 just by trying out two great Game rental services. Get paid to sit on your couch and play the latest titles? Yes, You Can!

GottaPlay and Gamefly are video game rental companies. Both have been around for some time, and have a good selection of games, quick shipping and great customer service. If you are a gamer, and want to try out the latest titles, you can earn $17.00 by reviewing either GottaPlay or Gamefly. Better yet, review them both and compare the features and benefits of each and earn $34.00!

Your review should focus on the speed of the service, the selection of games, and the overall customer experience.

Simply login to your Rewarding Reviews account and click in the offers tab to find GottaPlay, Gamefly, and many more offers that you can review for cash. Don't have an account with Rewarding Reviews? Join for free, and start writing paid reviews today.

New Offers Added - Blockbuster, American Express and Discover

2007-05-15T08:51:00.000-07:00

Well, 3 new offers have just been added to the list, with BIG payouts! Remember, you must be a new customer to get paid for your review.

Blockbuster Total Access is a DVD rental by mail service, the trial offer is free, with no further obligation. We will pay you to write a review of the service with a focus on the movie selections you rented, and the speed of delivery. You can return the movies to your local Blockbuster store, or mail them back. The Introductory rate for a review of Blockbuster Total Access is $25.00

American Express and Discover Miles Card also need to be reviewed, focus on customer service, speed of replies to enquiries, and dispute resolution (if it happens). If you wanted to, you could get both cards and compare them both!

American Express and Discover Miles card have no annual fee, but we will pay you $25 for a review of either one, or $50.00 when you review them both.

Get Paid to try new products - Join Rewarding Reviews