Referrals and Donut Holes!

First things First! If you haven't already signed up for a Swag Bucks account, there's no time like the present! Just go to the swidget on the right there, press the Sign Up button on the bottom right. Fill out a short form, confirm your email, and get 30 swagbucks to get you rolling! Then come back here and start with my second blog post, "Beginner Tips for Swagsurfing!", for tips on how to get started.

Ok that may sound like a silly title, and it is :P Donut Holes?!  Actually, I am referring to holes in the information from my previous blogs. I went through the Gerneral Info For Newbies thread on the discussions tab of the Swagbucks Facebook page. I was looking at the questions people have asked, and noticed, I have some holes in my info! It's breakfast time, there's a lovely picture of doughnuts on the forum, and Voila! We have donut holes :P

I'm gonna start with Referrals though. Last night when I asked in the forum what people would like to see information on next, that was the most common response. How to get referrals, and what happens when you Do get a referral.

I am no expert on getting referrals. You'd think I was with this blog, (and now that I haven written all I know, it appears I know more than i give myself credit for! :D ) but people are slow to believe in SwagBucks sometimes. It DOES sound too good to be true. But the best advice I can give, the only thing that has really worked for me so far, and has gotten me 5 referrals (plus 3 more folks who tried to sign up under me but it didn't "take") is simply, word of mouth!

I have my swagbucks account linked with facebook connect. On the swagbucks homepage top toolbar, next to your swagtotal, is a blue button that says f Connect. If you click that, it opens a page asking you for permissions, and asking you to set what things you would like swagbucks to share automatically. I have everything set to share. That way, whenever I get a win, it posts to my profile. Whenever I win with swagbucks tv, same thing. Whenever I get a swag code, it posts too! If you look at my profile on facebook all you see (for the most part) is a streaming river of wins, codes, and a the beginning of every month, prize redemptions.

After a while, this Does get some folks curious. :D

Now I also post 2-4 times a day in my status message about the blog, maybe a small blurb on how much I've won in the past day or two, or how much $value of prizes I have ordered so far. Maybe a list of loot I've bought on Amazon with those gift cards! This gets people curious too- it must, because I am finally seeing some traffic on this blogs stats page *giggle*

The biggest questions is- How do I get people to Successfully sign up UNDER ME? Like I mentioned before, I have had three people try to sign up under my swagname and somehow, the referral link doesn't take, and they end up as no ones referral. Honestly, it doesn't do anything special for Them to be signed up under anyone - I would help ANYONE who asks questions. It sure would help ME though! (Plus I feel like my referrals are my special swag family lol).

So how to get people to actually be signed up under you? Well, you have Virtuals, which are cute swag pics you can order through the Swagstore. These go directly into your "Virtuals" on swagbucks, and you can find them by going to the swagbucks homepage, clicking your swagtotal for the drop down menu, and clicking Virtuals. This will take you to a page that shows you all the virtuals you have bought.Each one has a blue Post To Facebook button. This doesn't allow you to write anything of your own, it posts a prewritten blurb to your facebook profile with the pic to grab folks attention. This post is SUPPOSED to have your referral link embedded in it- so the theory goes that anyone clicking on that link and signing up will end up signed up under you.

These are fun, and cute, but if you are like me with your fconnect set up, it might be a little bit of overkill. I only use them occasionally.

So far the best method I have found to get folks actually signed up under my account, is to direct them to my personal swidget. The one to the right there, at the top. Every time someone clicks Sign Up from there, it is linked to my referral name.

To get the swidget, go to the swagbucks homepage, and click on the PROMOTE tab in the top toolbar. Then choose Widget. This will take you to the Swidget Grab page. Press the Get Widget button, choose the button that corresponds to Where you want to post your swidget, and copy the code. If you choose the Facebook option, it opens a little blurb to post to your Facebook wall. Anyone clicking on that link will be taken to your Swidget, and if they sign up through your swidget, they will be your referral.

So, what happens when you get a referral? Why do people want them so badly?

Every time a person signs up under you, and starts searching & winning, you win too! Every time they get a win from searching (and searching only,) you get matching swagbucks. There is a cap of 1000 which stinks, but that IS two $5 amazon cards with 100 swagbucks to spare, so I definately can't complain!

The biggest problem I have found is getting my referrals to be active once they sign up. Of the 5 that I currently have, only one was very active. In less than 2 months they had hit the 1000 swagbucks cap. Keep in mind, this is from searching only! Who knows how many swagbucks they actually made in that time from codes, special offers, etc. ! 

If you are going to try to promote your referral link, definately mention somewhere in the blurb for people to write you in facebook, or to friend you on swagbucks (include your swagname so they know who you are!) so you can talk with them. You want to try to inspire them! Get them searching right away. (When I first started I had no help, no person I signed up under, and I didn't do squat for about 2 weeks *chuckle*. Once I started rollin, so did the swagbucks!)

That's pretty much it! If you have other ideas I haven't mentioned, Please comment here! If you have a link you want me to share, such as your own blog or swagbucks fan page, comment and I will post it on the sidebar to the right there.

Now on to the donut holes (are you hungry yet? lol)

Just a couple of quickies today, and tomorrows post will be much more thorough. I noticed a lot of folks asking questions about prize redemptions that I neglected to cover in my earlier blogs. Lets go through a couple of them, then I have to go clean the house and get the boy down for a nap.

1: What is the difference between amazon ecards and e certificates?  The ecards are for American swaggernauts, and the e certificates (amazon.ca) are for our Canadian friends. (there are also amazon.UK cards for our British friends, but they are more expensive- Bad on you swagbucks! I guess it has to do with the difference in dollar values..)  If you accidentally order the wrong one, you can contact swagbucks via the Contact Us link at the bottom of the homepage and ask them to refund the purchase. Or, if you realise your mistake before you verify your order, just don't verify it! After 48 hours it gets refunded back into your account. (Usually, just keep an eye on it.)

2: How do I verify my order?  Ones you have pressed "Snag This", verified your shipping information and pressed SUBMIT, an email will be sent to the account you have linked to your swagbucks account. Just go to your email, open the letter and press "Confirm".

3: How do I see what orders are open, what has shipped, what is pending verification? From the swagbucks homepage, use that ever-so-handy drop down menu (click your swagtotal up top on the bar) and choose Order Status. This will open up a page with tons of information. There are tabs to click through, to sort your findings. Verified is for orders that you have,obviously, verified, but have not shipped yet. Shipped shows you which prizes have been sent, Pending shows which ones you still need to verify.

4: How do I use my amazon cards, and where do I find them once they have shipped to me? Again, go to the Order Status link. On the left sidebar you will see "My Gift Cards". Press that, enter your password, and a list of all the cards you have available, and all the cards you have used will appear. The ones you have not used yet appear first, with a code. Open a new tab and log into amazon.com. At the top is a link, GIFT CARDS. Click that, and on the left sidebar is a spot for "Apply to account". Have that page open and ready then tab back to "My Gift Cards". Highlight and COPY the code, tab back to amazon, Paste it into the box and hit Apply. The amount will be added to your amazon account, and the code can no longer be used. To keep straight which codes you have used is easy- tab back over to My Gift Cards and click "Mark As Used". This will move the card into the other list, and prevent any confusion on your part. (There is no penalty for trying to apply a code more than once, if you have forgotten you used it.) Once you have entered your code and applied the amount to your amazon balance, it Never Expires! You can save it up as long as you like, get something awesome!

5: How long does it take to ship my card / prize?  Each prize has an estimate listed for how long it takes. The amazon cards state 10-14 days. For me it averages about 12. PayPal states something like 10-18 days, it averages 18-20 for me. Each prize is different, so just take note what the item description says when you are ordering.

6: How do PayPal prizes work?  PayPal is different than the other gift cards. You do not get a code to apply. Swagbucks deposits it directly into your PayPal account. It is VITALLY IMPORTANT that your swagbucks email, and your PayPal email, are the same, or else you will NOT get your money! When the prize ships, swagbucks sends you an email. Then, when it clears into your PayPal account, PayPal sends you an email. If you have one that says shipped by swagbucks, but doesn't show up in your PayPal, write to swagbucks via the Contact Us link and let them know. They will investigate and if there is some error, they will refund your PayPal purchase so you can order it again. This happened to me this month, and it took them about 24 hours to get the swagbucks refunded to me.

Ok, that's it for now, though there are a ton more donut holes for me to find and fill in for you. Check back tomorrow for another post, and as always,


HAPPY SWAGSURFING!