The CashCrate Experiment

I first learned about Cash Crate on CafeMom, a social network for moms. I had never even heard of a GPT before. After weeks of seeing the CashCrate ads and stories from real moms about how they make money with CashCrate while their kids nap, I finally decided to click on one of the links. I read the FAQ and the fine print of the TOS, and discovered that it's completely free. So, I decided to give it a try.

My original plan was to only do enough offers to reach the minimum payout of $10 (CashCrate recently raised their minimum payout to $20, but it is still easy to reach). That way I would invest the least amount of time possible and could test and see if they really pay. An hour after I registered I was already at $12! I was hooked.

I told myself to slow down, I mean what if they didn't really pay me? That first month I made about $24. I cashed-out, which requires receiving a confirmation phone call. They call you, give you a number that you type into their site. You only have to do this to get your first check, and you will never get a telemarketer call from giving CashCrate your phone number.

The following month on the 22nd, to my surprise, I received my CashCrate check for $24!

The most amazing part about Cash Crate, and the reason why it's everyone's favorite GPT site, is their referral program. You can very easily earn about $30 a month by just completing the free offers, but you can work your way up to over $1,000 a month if you build up your downline by recruiting referrals. I've seen people with close to 1,000 referrals make over $1,000 a month due to their referrals. Here's a summary of Cash Crate's referral program:

Bronze Level (0-49 Referrals): 1st Level Commission - 20%, 2nd Level - 10%

Silver (50-149 Referrals): 1st Level Commission - 25%, 2nd Level - 10%

Gold (150-299 Referrals): 1st Level Commission - 25%, 2nd Level - 15%

Platinum (300-499 Referrals) 1st Level Commission - 30%, 2nd Level - 15%

Elite Level (500+ Referrals): 1st Level Commission - 30%, 2nd Level - 20%

As you can see, the percentage you earn from your referrals climbs as you gain more referrals. The money really adds up fast as you build your downline.

I currently am at the silver level with 108 first level referrals. My goal is to gain enough referrals to reach gold status before this summer.

Learn more about various ways to gain referrals.

1) Email a quick ad to anyone in your address book you think may be interested in earning money online.

2) Get very active in a variety of forums and put a brief one sentence CashCrate ad and your referral link in your signature.

3) Advertise in forums that allow it. A great place to start is work at home forums.

4) Make a blog or website about CashCrate.

5) Make a Squidoo lens, much like I did here with this lens. They are free and work (after all, you found this one). Create your first lens here.

6) Write an ad on your paper money. After I cash my GPT and paid survey checks I write the following ad on my money: "I made this money at www.cashcrate.com/394552" or I'll write "I made this money online. Learn how at www.squidoo.com/the-cashcrate-experiment." I find that this works very well when I spend the money at fast food places of use it as tips for waitresses, etc.

7) Make flyers and post them around where you live and/or travel.

8) Mail out ads either as letters or save money and mail out postcards.

9) Talk in chat rooms that are about "easy money" or "working from home."

10) Put an ad in the classifieds.

11) Talk to students at a local college. Stand in a high traffic location and pass out flyers.

12) Put an ad on your car so everyone sees your link when you're driving around.

13) Have a button made up and wear it. Maybe have it say "I make money online for free" or "ask me how I make free money." Then have business cards handy with your link that you can hand out.

14) If you have business cards made with your link, you can also place them in money making books at the library or book store.

15) Put your link in your email signature.

16) Join free traffic building sites. I like Abetop Autoclick and Get Ref.

All of the following offers cleared for me on CashCrate and they are all 100% free. Simply go to the "Complete Offers" tab then sort the list to only show 100% free offers. All of these offers have credited for me:

1) Grill ..... $0.25
2) Free Ugg Boots ..... $0.25
3) Diapers Survey ..... $0.25
4) $50 Subway Card ..... $0.50
5) Costco vs Sam's Club ..... $0.75
6) SoftSoap Bodywash ..... $0.40
7) Jessica Simpson Clothing ..... $0.30
8) Yoga and Pilates ..... $0.25