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How Does this Free Stuff like freeipods.com Work?
03 Jan '05 - + 21 - 23 How Does this Free Stuff like freeipods.com Work?Many times I get asked "how can these companies give away *free* stuff?" and "so, what's the *catch*?"
This page will explain how the process works and how the companies can stay in business giving away free stuff. I'll also try to explain how there are no real "catches" with the process.
I've received several free items from the various free sites published by GratisNetwork and OfferCentric. I've also done a bit of research on the "business" behind the free giveaway model.
Here's how it works in a nutshell:
When you register at a site like freeipods.com, the first thing you
do is select which free gift you want by clicking on the button under
the gift, enter your email address and create a password.
I recommend using your regular ISP address or a free email address from either yahoo.com or gmail. I originally tried signing up with my hotmail.com address because I was worried about getting spam, but the validation email they send NEVER made it to my inbox or spam filters at hotmail. When I used my gmail address, the verification email from freeipods.com went straight to my inbox. I also have to note that I haven't received ANY spam email from either GratisNetwork or OfferCentric.
After you enter your email address and click the "Continue" button, you will be taken to a series of surveys. Feel free to answer yes or no to the surveys, however they do not have an effect on you getting your free gift.
After the last survey question, you will be taken to the main freeipods (or whichever freesite you signed up with) "Welcome" screen. This page lists the "offers" that you have to choose from. You have to complete one offer before you can qualify for your free gift.
An offer can be any type of free trial, product or service that is listed on the Welcome screen. You have to click through the links on the offers page to make sure your offer is tracked correctly.
This is an important part of the process, because this is how the freesites like Gratis and OfferCentric get "paid" so they can give away the cool free gifts like free ipods, flatscreens, laptop computers and more!
Just select one of the offers that interests you the most. There are usually quite a few to choose from and they try to put in relevant offers so there is something for everyone:
Like movies? Try the BlockBuster online trial offer to get great DVDs delivered to your door. Need ink for your printer? Buy your ink through the offer link at freeipods and get credit for doing an offer and be one step closer to your free gift. Need a new credit card? Apply and get accepted through the offer links at the freesite so you can get more credit and get a free ipod!
Once you have completed the offer, Gratis (or OfferCentric) will review your account to make sure you are properly credited for doing your offer. Some offers get credited instantly, some offers will be credited after several days.
In the meantime, you can move on to the next step in the process: referring friends.
If you click in the 'Refer Friends' link in the navigation bar at the top of the screen at freeipods.com (or the other freesites), you will be taken to a page that will give you your unique referral link and also present you with some tools to help you let your friends know about this great free offer.
You can either type up your own email and send it to your friends (don't spam), or you can use their form to have a pre-written email sent to the email addresses you enter. You can also post your link in your blog, on your website, in your forum signatures where permitted, etc.
For the freeipods offer, all you have to do is have 5 of your friends signup using your link and each of them just needs to complete one offer.
Once you have 5 people that signup and complete an offer, you just login to your freeipods page and click a "Request Approval" button. After they review your account and your referrals, you can login and place your order for your free gift (and get free shipping).
Keep in mind that they check each account and your referrals very closely to prevent fraud. Do not try to cheat the system by signing up twice, or doing offers for your friends. They take fraud very seriously and will suspend accounts that are found to be violating their terms of service. Just follow the rules and don't try anything shady and you won't have any problems.
Ready to get your free stuff? Click here to get a free 30 GB Video iPod or Click here to get a free 4 GB iPod Nano (Black or White)