Most of these incentive-based sites claim that all you have to do is enter your zipcode or email (or both) to receive some lucrative prize reward. If you read the fine text at the bottom of the page, you will see that it is a much more involved process. This article is about how to follow the fine text and claim a reward from these free offers.



Today, I will be examining a "getmyfreelaptop" site. These sites can be found easily by googling "free X" (whereas "X" is the name of the thing you want). This offer claims that you can receive one of 4 laptops and has an email entry form.

Step 1:

Register for their site. Simply selecting your desired gift and entering your email (some websites have zipcode instead) will enter you into the database as a potential sale (someone who will complete 1 or more offers). These sites earn revenue by people completing offers (sometimes up to $120 per 3rd party sale). When you register, make sure you enter an email that you don't mind getting spammed, as they sign you up for hundreds of email lists (because under the fine text you have consented to do so).

Next, you should be asked to enter in your information (address, phone number, etc). Enter all legitimate information as this will be the contact address and shipping address (should your package get mislabeled, etc). If you enter false information, their obligation to send you your reward is void.

Step 2:

You will now begin the process of signing up for mailing lists. There are hundreds of offers (I usually am not interested in any and select the ?No? option for every one; however, you can select ?Yes? for as many as you'd like) that you can choose from. Sometimes there is a ?Skip? option at the bottom to save you some time, so you might want to check for that.

Step 3:

For this next step, you will be directed to the offers page, where they want you to sign up and complete a series of offers (many are free trials and sometimes won't cost you a penny). A lot of these sites require you do a set of 3, 4 or even 5 pages of offers (select anywhere from 1-5 offers on each page). Usually, the last page is the hardest offer (in terms of how much you will have to break the bank). Always, always, check the last page to see what the offer is and whether or not you are interested in completing any of the last page ones.

Your best bet: make a game plan. Find out which offers from which pages you are going to complete. I usually find out ones I'm interested, ones that have free trials, and ones that are plain the easiest to go through with. Free trials are generally offers you can cancel after a certain amount of time and not get charged at all. Some offers require you pay solely for the shipping and handling (which can be from $1 - $9, depending) for their ?free trial.? Make sure you assess each of the offers fine text as to whether or not you will be committing yourself to any contract of payment obligation. Sometimes if you pay the shipping and handling and forget to cancel the trial, you will be charged a lot for something you may or may not have wanted. You may need to ship the item back, so always check for that!

After you have thought out which offers you want to complete, find out all the contract details for each offer and write them down in an Excel spreadsheet, notepad file, or on paper. Write down the 800 number if you decide to cancel the offer. If you forget, you will be charged and you won't get that money back.

Be warned that credit card offers are usually involved processes. You will not receive instant credit for having completed this offer.

Step 4:

Once you have completed everything (and have completed the offers), proceed to the main page (or look around for a ?member login? button) so that you can track your progress. Sometimes the offers will report that you have completed their offer immediately. Other times, it may take anywhere for 1 hour to 2 weeks. Just be patient. If an offer you have completed does not report, give the website a call (not the advertiser) or email them. They may require you to provide documentation of completing the offer. If you do not get credit for an offer, you will have to complete another offer from that category.

Step 5:

This is the waiting process. Once you have completed all of your offers, you will have to wait. For one of the sites I did, I had to wait around 4 months after verification to receive my $1,050.00 check. It was worth it, however. Make sure that you call them every month or so to check the status of the order and see whether or not it has been shipped (sometimes they will just send you a check for the equivalent value of your item as they sometimes don't have it in stock).That's it! There's the 5 steps to receiving a free gift from those shady advertisements.

Remember: I cannot vouch for every single site, but from my experience, they have all been legitimate. Research each site before signing up and completing any offers. Do not do any offers until you have a solid strategy!

Good luck! Post here if you have any questions or follow up stories or advise!