Getting Paid to Read Emails – How Does it Work?
There are a few companies that pay you to read emails. But how does it really work, and why do companies pay you for simply reading emails?
The answer is simple. Advertising.
Businesses that want to advertise their products or share information with as many people as possible pay ‘get-paid-to’ (GTP) companies to distribute those ads. In response, GTP companies pay you a portion of their commission for reading emails containing various companies’ ads.
What’s more, you have the power to help brands improve their products, services, and offerings. When brands see that you weren’t interested in a 15% off discount, it tells them to offer you a better deal.
How Much Can You Expect to Get Paid to Read Emails?
| GTP Company | Earning Potential |
|---|---|
| Swagbucks | Up to $2.4 per week |
| InboxDollars | Win up to $100 on a scratch-off card |
| MyPoints | $0.02 per email |
| QuickRewards | $0.75 per survey |
| Paid to Read Email | $0.01 – $0.10 per email |
| InboxPounds (Only UK) | $0.02 to $0.05 per email |
6 Legit Ways to Get Paid to Read Emails
Let’s review the six legit GTP sites that pay you to read emails.
Quote: Pro tip: create a new email address so your regular inbox doesn’t get bombarded with advertising emails.
Swagbucks
Swagbucks Summary
- 18 ways to earn money and e-gift cards
- $5 sign up bonus
- Up to 10% cashback when shopping online
- $1 minimum e-gift card withdrawal
To earn money for reading emails, you’ll need to check mail through your Swagbucks dashboard. Note that you won’t get paid for reading the promotional emails that they send to your email address.
To earn money, go to your Swagbucks dashboard and look for the “Click and Earn” emails.
To earn money, you’ll also need to click on offers within the emails you get. On average, you can expect to earn between $0.02 to $0.04 for each offer you click on. Considering that you can receive up to 60 offers per week, you have the potential to earn $1.2 to $2.4 per week.
You’ll also get a $5 welcome bonus when you join Swagbucks.
InboxDollars
InboxDollars Summary
- $5 sign up bonus
- Referral program – 30% that referral makes
- Most of the surveys pay $0.01 to $2.50
- 13 different ways to earn money
Joining InboxDollars awards you with a $5 welcome bonus. After you sign up, you can opt-in to read PaidEmails from your smartphone or computer.
For reading emails with InboxDollars, you’ll earn virtual scratch-off cards that enable you to unlock prizes. Since you’re earning scratch-off cards, your earnings depend on a chance. This means that there’s no guarantee that you’ll win money, but at the same time, you may win up to $10, $25, or $100.
$59 million in cash rewards since 2000 proves that InboxDollars is a legitimate company.
Some emails come with exciting offers. For example, you may:
- Earn $2 for downloading a new shopping app
- Get special introductory rates for wine clubs
- Earn a free 7-day trial for a TV or movie streaming service
- Get sweepstakes announcements
MyPoints
MyPoints Summary
- $5 sign-up bonus upon email confirmation
- $0.27 to $2.13 on average per survey
- Over 10 different ways to earn money
- Pays by gift cards and PayPal
- Cash out with gift cards starting at $3
- MyPoints mobile apps: iOS and Android
MyPoints offers a program called BonusMail, which rewards you with 5 points whenever you read an email. With 250 points equaling $1, you can expect to earn $0.02 per email.
You can maximize your earnings when you shop or complete a transaction from the BonusMail you get.
You’ll also get a $5 welcome bonus when you join Swagbucks.
QuickRewards
As a QuickRewards member, you’ll be rewarded when you complete an activity within an email, such as taking advantage of a shopping deal or participating in a survey. Note that the platform won’t reward you for simply reading an email.
When it comes to earnings, QuickRewards surveys pay around $0.75 and take about 10 minutes to complete.
InboxPounds (Only UK)
InboxPounds is a UK version of InboxDollars, which enables you to earn the equivalent of $0.02 to $0.05 to read emails.
Except for the money you’ll earn by reading emails, you’ll also get a £1 welcome bonus and earn 30% of your friends’ earnings who sign up with your referral.
Paid to Read Email
Paid to Read Email offers two types of earnings for reading emails:
- Simply read an email – $0.01 – $0.10 per email you confirm
- Participate in a survey – $0.5 – $1 per survey you complete
You’ll also earn a $3 sign-up bonus when you join the Paid to Read Email platform.
Once you reach $15 in earnings, you can withdraw your funds through PayPal. If your balance was less than $15 at the end of the month, your funds will be transferred to the following month.
Payment processing usually takes up to three business days. However, your first payment request is processed on a net-15 basis, which means that it will be processed 15 days from the end of the month in which you requested the payment. The net-15 waiting period is necessary to prevent online fraud.
Alternative Ways to Get Paid to Read Emails
Find a VA Job on ZipRecruiter
ZipRecruiter Summary
- Top-rated app and job search engine
- Simple, 1-tap job application process
- Over 30 different job categories
- More than 7.5 million jobs posted each day
With more than 7.5 million jobs posted each day, ZipRecruiter is one of the best recruitment platforms to find VA jobs.
VA stands for a Virtual Assistant, and your duties as a VA may include:
- Reading emails on behalf of your manager
- Organizing email inbox
- Responding to emails
Simply create your job seeker account on ZipRecruiter for free to look for VA jobs and apply right on the site. What’s best, many jobs on ZipRecruiter feature one-click applications. This means that with just one click, you can apply for the job and send your CV.
Find a VA Job on FlexJobs
FlexJobs Summary
- Jobs in over 50 categories available
- Members get exclusive deals and discounts
- All jobs are guaranteed to be legit
- Get access to 4 job search resources
Another legitimate job search platform to find a VA job is FlexJobs. After signing up for the platform and setting up your job seeker profile, simply go to the search bar to find the relevant job to your skills and requirements.
However, unlike ZipRecruiter, you’ll need to pay a FlexJobs membership fee—$14.95 per month, $29.95 for three months, or $49.95 for a year.
10 Companies That Are Not Worth Signing Up for Reading Emails
InboxPays
InboxPays will email you paid surveys and various offers. The amount you can earn per offer varies from offer to offer, and sometimes, no incentives are offered at all.
Fusion Cash
Paid emails from Fusion Cash enable you to earn $0.02 per day, which isn’t enough to turn it into a genuine source of income.
EmailCashPro
EmailCashPro is a Japanese rewards site that’s not available to non-Japanese users.
Inbox2Cash
Since Inbox2Cash offers up to $0.004 per email read, the platform isn’t worth your time.
Cash Crate
With many negative reviews from Cash Crate users on Trustpilot and Sitejabber, the platform is a waste of time. Users mainly complain in their reviews that CashCrate doesn’t pay out promised earnings.
Points2Shop
The Points2Shop platform looks sketchy from the very first impression. Its site doesn’t provide any information unless you sign up.
UniqPaid
UniqPaid claims that you can earn a ‘tremendous amount of money,’ which is a sketchy claim for any get-paid-to (GTP) site.
Quick Pay Survey
Quick Pay Survey offers $0.05 for every confirmed email. However, since this platform sends limited emails, it’s not worth signing up.
Cash4Offers
Cash4Offers pays $0.01 per confirmed email, so you’ll need to click a lot of emails to make a significant amount of money.
Send Earnings
Send Earnings offers typically pay $0.05 to $0.5, which makes it hard to hit the minimum withdrawal threshold of $30.
