9 ways to make money from watching videos
If you ever find yourself wishing you could get paid to watch videos online, we've got some very good news – you can. Here's how.
Credit: Luis Molinero, FOGS – Shutterstock
Making money from watching videos is a lot easier than you might think. As you likely watch films and ads online in your spare time already, it's such a simple way to earn extra money.
It's a great way to make money alongside similar ventures like starting a YouTube channel. Plus, doing video-related work experience could boost your CV. So, if you're hoping to get a job in film, TV or digital media, it's ideal.
There are loads of ways to watch videos for money, and we'll go through the best options here.
How to get paid to watch videos
Here are the best ways to watch videos and earn money:
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Watch videos for money on Swagbucks
If you haven't already, signing up to Swagbucks is a great way to start making money from quick and easy tasks. You can earn rewards for watching videos, playing games, surfing the web and doing paid online surveys.
The types of videos you'll watch on Swagbucks could include ads, news content and viral videos.
By watching videos on the site, you might not earn huge amounts of money or 'Swagbuck points' (a.k.a. SB), but as it's such easy money, it's worth trying.
Plus, when you use Swagbucks on top of the other suggestions in this list, your earnings will soon add up.
For more tips, read our in-depth Swagbucks review. And, for a special sign-up bonus, click the link below.
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Make money watching videos on InboxPounds
InboxPounds works in a similar way to Swagbucks. It lets you earn cash for super simple things like watching videos and taking surveys.
Again, you might not make big money on here, but the more tasks you do beyond watching videos, the more money you can make.
Even reading InboxPounds' deals emails, or searching the internet on their search page, can earn you cash.
You get a £1 bonus for signing up too.
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Watch video ads on WeAre8 for earnings or charity
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Hoping to watch ads for money and make a positive impact? WeAre8 could be the app for you.
Like some of the others on this list, WeAre8 is an app that lets you earn cash from watching videos. But, it has a slight difference. As well as making money to boost your bank balance, you also have the chance to contribute to charity.
After you watch ads on this platform, you're asked to answer a few quick questions and you can earn around 10p per video.
There are three ways that you can have the money paid out:
- It could be paid into your PayPal account
- It could auto-pay your EE mobile bill
- Or you could pay it forward to a charity of your choice.
An added (and rather lovely) bonus is that each time you watch a video on the app, brands make a charity donation too.
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Watch ads, TV trailers and more for money on Slicethepie
Slicethepie is a review site that lets you earn points for doing loads of very easy things like watching interesting videos, listening to music and answering survey questions.
The videos include commercials and clips, such as trailers for films and TV shows.
The minimum withdrawal is $10 (just under £8) which will get paid into your PayPal account. As they read through all the reviews before making payments, you might need to wait up to five working days for the withdrawal request to be processed.
You can find out more in our guide to reviewing on Slicethepie, or click the link below to sign up.
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Make money watching videos on PrizeRebel
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PrizeRebel is a site that lets you earn money watching videos – something that requires so little work it's almost free money.
You can request the money you've earned through the site as PayPal money or as gift cards. When withdrawing the money via PayPal, there's a minimum payout of $5 (just under £4).
If you're redeeming your points for a voucher, you may find the minimum payout is lower than it is when using PayPal. For example, you might be able to use your points to claim an Amazon voucher worth $2 (about £1.60).
When you redeem the points you've earned through the site, your money/gift cards will be processed and sent to you within 24 hours.
As well as watching videos, you can also answer paid online surveys and refer friends to PrizeRebel to boost your earnings.
And on PrizeRebel's social media pages, they often share opportunities to get bonus points.
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Write subtitles for films as a freelancer via Fiverr
To add more film-related experience to your CV (and make money in the process) you could start writing subtitles for online videos as a freelancer.
Subtitles and transcripts can be very time-consuming to write. So, to save time, some content creators hire freelancers to write their video subtitles for them.
On sites like Fiverr, you can find freelancers offering to write video subtitles for a fee. To get an idea of prices, have a look at what other freelancers charge for similar services. Then, post rates that you think are fair but competitive.
As a guideline, we've seen some freelancers on Fiverr start their rates at around £4 to write subtitles.
If you speak another language, this is a bonus. It means you'd be able to charge a bit extra to translate videos on a freelance basis. Not to mention it's bound to impress future employers.
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Make money from film and TV reviews
Credit: Yevgen Kravchenko, kamui29, Bell Photography 423 – Shutterstock
Hoping to make a living from watching videos? Becoming a film or TV reviewer is one of the best, most established ways of doing so.
It's by no means easy to reach the point of writing about videos as a full-time job. But, with hard work, dedication and strong writing skills, you can do it.
Film and TV criticism are very competitive lines of work. So, particularly if you're thinking about writing on a freelance basis, you'll need to start off by charging lower rates to reflect your level of experience.
But remember, you deserve to get paid for your writing. You shouldn't have to accept payments that are lower than you think is fair, just because you're starting out.
To prepare for a full-time job as a film or TV critic, it's worth looking into internships to boost your CV. Unfortunately, not all journalism internships pay well (or at all, in some cases). For help with accommodation during internships, check out PressPad.
And, if you do find yourself on an unpaid internship, our guide to supporting yourself financially during the placement can help.
Once you start to build up your portfolio of reviews and make a name for yourself, you can gradually increase your rates and take on bigger commissions.
Pitching article ideas about films and TV shows to editors
To start getting commissioned for film or TV reviews as a freelancer, it's worth setting up a blog. There, you can showcase your writing style and talent.
Then, look for commissioning editors of relevant publications. Reach out to them directly (addressing them by their name in emails) and pitch them your idea.
At the end of your pitch, link to your portfolio or blog website so they can see your work.
Be confident with your article ideas, keep pitches concise and don't be disheartened by rejections. Keep going and hopefully, in time, you'll be able to make money from writing about your favourite films and TV shows.
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Take part in paid psychological studies
If you're interested in taking part in psychological and behavioural studies, this could be a good way for you to make money from watching videos.
The amount you can get paid in compensation for doing psychological studies will vary massively depending on the type of trial and how long it lasts, but you could receive as much as £100+ for your time.
But please note – we recommend only signing up for studies if you genuinely want to do them, rather than simply as a way of making money. Depending on the nature of the study, there's a potential for them to be emotionally or mentally challenging. So, it's best to only take part in ones you're fully comfortable with.
How to find psychological trials
As with all clinical trials, it's important to focus on trusted organisations when signing up for psychological studies.
When looking for legitimate paid psychology trials, we recommend focusing on studies at universities.
First, get in touch with the psychology department at your uni to see if there are any upcoming studies you could get involved in. This would be the best and easiest way to take part in one.
But, if that's not possible, you could look into studies at other universities.
To focus your search, try typing '[university name] psychological trials' into Google. This should come up with the relevant page on the uni's website.
There, you'll find call-outs for study trial participants and guidance on how to apply.
Or, you could always contact a university's psychology department directly, either on the phone or by email, to find out more about their upcoming studies.
Often, universities will say that they are looking for "volunteers" for the studies. But, these opportunities will typically still include some form of compensation (either in cash or vouchers) for your time and expenses.
For example, you can register as a participant in research studies on the University of Cambridge's website. Although they are asking for volunteers, they offer "modest monetary compensation" to people who take part.
Not all studies are guaranteed to include videos, but keep an eye out for ones that suit you and your interests.
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Promote videos for companies online
As well as getting paid to watch videos, you could consider charging companies to promote their clips and ads online.
Sponsored posts are a common way to make money for online influencers. While you don't necessarily need a huge online following to do this, it would help if you have a reasonable number of followers on social media and/or your own blog.
The bigger your audience, the more you can charge companies to share their content.
Of course, it's important to make sure the videos you're promoting are useful and relevant to your audience. It could really impact your online brand if you share content that your followers don't engage with.
Try reaching out to the influencer marketing departments of brands that you're interested in to discuss working together on a sponsored video post.
You could also use freelance sites like Fiverr to find companies who'd be happy to pay you a fee to share their video content online. This could be especially effective if you have a smaller online following.
But if you do get paid to share a post online, remember to clearly state that it's an advert or sponsored post. You can find more info and guidance in the ASA's Influencer Guide.
Fancy getting free money? Of course you do – find out how in our guide.
