What is an IFW?

What is an IFW?

This is probably the first question you may be asking yourself. IFW stands for Incentivized Freebie Website (they are more simply known as freebie or free sites). These websites offer a variety of prizes upon meeting their specific conditions. The prizes offered can vary from one free site to the next. Some examples include: iPods, computers (either desktop or laptop), popular game consoles, TV’s, etc. Freebie Websites have been around for quite some time and are steadily growing in popularity. There are 3 different types of freebie sites: Referral based, DIY (Do-It-Yourself), and Points based. I will focus on the referral based freebie sites in this blog.

How It Works

Freebie sites have many companies who list with them such as Gevalia coffee, Netflix, Disney Book club, Stamps.com, etc. These companies want more advertising exposure and would like to increase their customer base. So they will set up certain conditions such as free trial memberships by publishing/advertising through the incentivized freebie sites. When a person signs up on a freebie site (usually under someone’s unique link) and tries an offer, the freebie site usually earns a certain amount for each person that makes a purchase. The freebie sites also acquire the products that they are giving away as prizes at a discounted rate (they get them in bulk which makes it cheaper). In order to be awarded a prize, the person has to complete a certain number of offers and acquire a certain number of referrals.

How Do I Make Money?

Good question. There are 3 primary ways to make money from completing IFW’s.

The first is by getting paid to be someone’s referral. On the Free Lunchroom forum (also known as FLR), this is referred to as Method 1. You register at a freebie site using a trader’s unique referral link. A referral link looks like this: http://www.freebiemonster.net/?ref=29692. Please note: In order to get paid for your referral, it is important to sign up using a trader’s referral link. If you just go to the freebie site to sign up you will be registered as unreferred and will not be able to receive payment for completing offers. When registering, you must provide accurate information. Any conflicting information will result in your account being placed on hold or cancelled. This is called going red. It is important to note that PO boxes are prohibited. After you appropriately register on the site, you can then start completing offers. Please note that each offer is assigned a specific credit value or weight. Each site has its own requirement as to how many credits it will take to meet offer requirements. Most newbies are encouraged to try 1 credit sites – where you complete enough offers that will equal to 1 credit. Most people who start out using this method will complete offers that are either free or cost very little so that they can net most of what they will earn for completing the referral.

The second way to make money is by paying others to be your referral on a freebie site. This is also known as Method 2 and is the more popular and lucrative method. Most people start out with Method 1, and then after they have completed several trades they move on to method 2. This transition is known as Jumping the Fence. If you are a part of a trading forum such as FLR, you would create a trade thread in that forum which advertises what sites you are seeking referrals for and what you will pay them for their referral. Most traders will pay a referral 50% of the value that they would earn for that referral, depending on the prize. For example, if a trader is trying to get 3 referrals for $120 Paypal cash on a freebie site, the value for each referral is $40 ($120 /3). Therefore, the trader will offer to pay $20 for a referral. Some traders are willing to pay more due to the competitive nature of finding new people who are willing to become referrals. (That’s why the more people that participate in the freebie business, the better for veteran traders. It’s also the reason why veteran traders are more than willing to help you to become a successful trader. Their success hinges upon your success.) Most freebie sites are repeatable, meaning that once you cash out with a prize you can start over again. The beauty of this is that on most sites you remain forever green – when you complete offers once and go green, you remain green and can cash out with the appropriate amount of referrals over and over again! That’s why Method 2 can be quite lucrative. It’s also why it’s important to successfully do Method 1. The sites that you green for others in Method 1 you can now use in Method 2 to pay for referrals!

The third way to make money is by selling the prizes that you earn from completing the freebie site. This is also known as Method 3 and can be just as lucrative as Method 2. Some traders opt to choose a prize over receiving cash. These prizes include electronics such as flat screen TV’s, iPods, computers, etc. They can sell the items on a major auction site like Ebay or even post in the classifieds. The profit margin can be huge considering that the prize is brand new.

Glossary of Trading Terms

Below is a list of terms that are most commonly used in the freebie world, especially if you become affiliated with a trading forum such as Free Lunchroom or Anything for Free forums. Be sure to familiarize yourself with these terms as it will help you with learning the process.

A4F - Anything for Free forumApproval - Refers to someone completing all site requirements, and approved to claim their final Prize.

Avatar - Small graphic that represents you on the forum.

Banned - A temporary ban for spamming means you cannot use the FLR forum for a short time, usually a few days. A permanent ban means you can never use the FLR forum again.

Bump - to cause your thread to rise to the top of the list, either by posting "I'm bumping up" or by answering a question.

CC - credit card required; No CC is no credit card required

Clear Cache or Clear Cookies - Mainly refers to erasing old cookies, so the wrong site does not receive credit when you do an offer.

Conga Line - Similar to the chain letter idea. You sign up at the bottom. Eventually you get to the top of the list and stay there till you get a set number of referrals. This is prohibited in the free lunch room forum.

Cookie - A small bit of electronic tracking information stored on your computer. A site cookie is stored when you log into a site and click on the offer page. An offer cookie is stored after you are redirected to a specific offer page. Both cookies help you receive credit for doing the offer.

Crediting - The process of getting your completed offer credited to your account on the freebie site.

DIY Site - Do It Yourself or Points site. Instead of getting referrals, you can do all the offers yourself.

Evergreen - A term used on some repeatable sites, meaning that you keep your own green status forever. Same as forever green.

FIPG - Free Ipod Guide forum

FLR - Free Lunch Room forum

Free Green - Sometimes a network will grant you green status on a site without requiring you to do an offer yourself. Then all you have to do is get referrals.

G4G - green for green (trading sites with someone).

Green - Refers to someone completing the basic Offer Requirements for a specific freebie site. People will say you have gone green, or given them a green.

Green for Green Trade - Also known as G4G, ref 4 ref, or site 4 site. This is when you do someone else's site and they do yours. No money has to change hands. It's a good idea to trade sites this way. If you are paid cash to be a ref, you only make half the ref value. If you trade sites, you eventually receive full referral value.

Hijacking - contacting someone who replied to someone else's trading thread. This is against the forum rules.

IFW - Incentivized Freebie Site

I-trader – a numeric rating similar to auction-style feedback that is based upon feedback of other traders who have done business with the person. It is very critical to a trader’s reputation.

Jump the Fence - Start seeking referrals instead of just doing sites for cash.

Locked Thread - means nobody can reply to the thread. Your trading thread can be temporarily locked if you violate a rule, for example if you bump it too many times. Only the Moderators can lock a thread.

LTCO - Looking To Complete Offers, a section of forum in FLR. Its purpose is for new people to post a thread when they are ready to become referrals for other traders. This section was shutdown, but has now been re-vamped in order to boost trading.

MCR - Manual Credit Request. You sign into your freebie site and look for the MCR area. Then ask for your missing credit on the offer you did.

Mods - same as Moderators, people who regulate FLR

Network - Name of the company or parent site, like Giftmonster or Zero Price Tags. Each network may offer many freebie sites, and you can sign up for each site once. Networks are rated by several agencies according to quality, customer service, and how long they have been active.

Newbie – Someone who is new to trading on freebie sites and/or someone who is new to a trading forum.

Offer - The advertising for a specific product or service on the freebie site. You can only do each offer once, no matter how many freebie sites carry that offer.

Offer Requirement - The amount of offers or credits needed to qualify on a specific freebie site before you collect your own referrals. Some 1 credit sites only require 1 offer. Some 1 credit sites require 5 or more offers.

Offer weight - The same offer can be worth a full credit on one site, and only half a credit on another.

OOD - Offer of Doom. A problem on Offercentric sites where the offers get very difficult for the last few refs you collect.

PFR - paying for referrals.

Points site - Do It Yourself or Points site. Instead of getting referrals, you do all the offers yourself.

PM - Private Message. Click on someone's avatar to the left of their message to access their profile or send them a message.

Post - forum message where you hit reply and answer.

PP or PPD - Project Payday, a training program for using freebie sites

Prize - The final reward you receive after completing the Offer Requirement on a freebie site and collecting all needed referrals. Most sites have a choice of prizes, and you can usually change your prize after you sign up.

Red Status - Refers to revoked credits on a freebie site, offers which are no longer green. If someone pays you for going green, and you revert to red, you will owe them a refund.

Referral or ref - someone who has been referred by another trader (who would be the referrer or sponsor member)

Referral Link - The signup web link which gives the Referring Party credit for the referral.

Referral Value - The amount each referral is worth. Take the prize value and divide by the number of referrals. So for a $400 prize based on 10 referrals, the final referral value would be $40. The amount of cash someone will pay you to be their referral is usually half of that.

Repeatable - Will let you collect prizes more than once. Most repeatable sites are also evergreen. But some will make you do an offer again and re-green before you can collect more referrals.

RS - Referral Swapper forum.

Scamming - committing fraud, against another trader, a freebie site, a forum. Usually involves refusing to refund or obtaining money under false pretenses.

Site - Each freebie site in a network will have it's own website like cash.zeropricetags.com or gifts.zeropricetags.com. You can sign up for each site once.

Spamming - contacting someone about trading without them initiating the contact. This is against the forum rules.

Sticky - A thread or post that constantly stays at the top of your page. They are often used by moderators for important announcements. You can also pay for a sticky trading thread, so that more people will see what you are advertising, but lots of people want to do this, so the right to buy a sticky is awarded by raffle.

Support ticket - You sign into the freebie site, look for the help or support area, and leave a message about your problem on the site.

Thread - same as forum post, except you start a whole new topic

TOS - Terms of Service. These are the terms of an offer, or the fine print. Pay special attention to the cancellation method required and how long you have to cancel a membership.

TM - Trade Manager, where trades are tracked on FLR.

TR - Trade Rating, shows how many trades someone has completed within a certain forum system, like the Free Lunch Room.

Trade - agreement you made with another trader.

Trading thread - The message thread advertising what sites you need referrals on, and what sites you want to do.

Trainn or TRAINN - Stands for Transcendental Innovations. It is a network that owns numerous freebie sites. Good for newbies, as you can go green with one offer. They have great customer service, will accept a Manual Credit Request and can help you get your missing credits.

Verified by FLR - you have paid $50 to join the Verified program, and are now eligible to purchase a sticky

Verified Green - means the freebie site says you appear to be ok

Veteran – someone who has been involved in freebie trading for several months.

Walk Through - This is when someone either stands next to or IM’s you and tells you what to do for every step. Although we are allowed to offer assistance as traders, we are NOT supposed to tell others which offers to choose on a freebie site.

Yellow Status - Means you have signed up for a site, and now have your own referral link. But you have not done the Offer Requirements.

What You Will Need to Get Started
Free membership to a trading forum such as FLR
A home computer/laptop

A static IP address
Internet Explorer or Mozilla Firefox
Be located in the US or Canada*
A major debit/credit card
A verified PayPal account
A journal or spreadsheet

Due to the high level of fraud that has occurred on a lot of freebie sites, many of the rules have become stricter. You cannot login to a freebie site from more than one computer because each IFW site records the IP address. That is why it’s important to set up a computer at home before you get started in this business.

Another important aspect is that you cannot use a web browser that is a proxy such as AOL. Proxies use multiple IP addresses that change each time you would log into a site. Your IP address must be static otherwise the IFW site will think that you are a scammer. Most freebie sites are only available to people located within the US and Canada. *Note: there are a few sites that will allow other members from European countries to join. You must read the Terms of Service in order to find out.

A major credit or debit card containing the Visa or MasterCard logo is required in order to complete offers. PayPal debit cards and plugins are no longer allowed to use for completing offers. You must also have a verified Paypal account. Many traders are more comfortable trading with someone who is PayPal verified than someone who isn't.

The above information is a general overview of IFWs. I strongly recommend that you become a member of the Free Lunchroom forum. For more additional information, you can e-mail me at needmoola@mail.com or you can go to the Free Lunchroom (FLR) forum by clicking on this link:

http://www.freelunchroom.com/board/index.php?referrerid=66186

Clearing Cookies

Before signing up on any sites, it's important to understand the importance of clearing your cache, cookies, and site history before you login or register to a site. This is important in order to ensure proper credit for doing offers. Also, when doing offers, remember to keep the final page up for at least 10 minutes before leaving the page. Below are a few links from FLR that discuss how to ensure receiving proper credit when doing offers:

http://www.freelunchroom.com/board/lunch-packing-assistance/173609-how-avoid-honest-mistakes-when-completing-offers.html

http://www.freelunchroom.com/board/member-tutorials/209736-firefox-browser-how-set-up-doing-offers-pictorial.html

http://www.freelunchroom.com/board/lunch-packing-assistance/144049-how-stay-green.html

I am a member of the Free Lunch Forum. My FLR username is needmoola. Currently, I trade exclusively through this forum using their Trade Manager. The Trade Manager helps to keep track of trades and where feedback is generated by both traders after a trade is completed. Below are a few of the sites that I am currently working on:

http://www.freebiemonster.net/?ref29692

http://www.polomonster.net/?ref=23105

http://www.jockmonster.net/?ref=42826

My Trade Terms

I pay $22 upon completion or "greening" of any of the above sites via PayPal provided that the trades are set up in Trade Manager on FLR. If you go "red" (account goes on hold status) for any reason then I will request that you either complete another offer or give me a refund. Each of the above sites is 1 credit, meaning that you have to do enough successful offers that will add up to 1 credit before you are considered "green".

Conclusion

The freebie industry is an exciting industry to be involved in. The key is to stay organized and have fun with it. This is not a get rich quick scheme. Your success is dependent upon the amount of effort and time that you put into it. As with any opportunity there are some pitfalls and I will discuss them in a separate post. In the meantime, learn as much as you can. Happy Trading!

Disclaimer:

This blog and the information contained therein is solely for information and entertainment purposes only. This blog does not guarantee the reader or anyone else who follows the advice of the author will actually earn any income whatsoever. Any money that you choose to forfeit, submit, invest, divulge, use, spend, exhaust, squander, waste, splurge, or expend on any or any combination of techniques discussed within the author's teachings shall be done at your own risk or expense.

You also agree not to hold the author of this blog legally liable of any money of yours that is lost, scammed, swindled, as a result of your discretionary choice to follow the advice of the author. The author is neither a financial or legal expert. Therefore, please take the utmost discretion in choosing to implement any of the methods, techniques, or programs that the author may mention in this blog.