Reviews, Saving Money & Word of Mouth

image by 401(K) 2012 on flickr

I love being a homemaker! It is such a joy and a blessing to take care of our home and make sure that we have a clean environment, good food to eat, and a warm, cozy place. With that comes my love of saving money! It’s exciting! I am always looking for ways to clip coupons, take advantage of sales, and cut our costs on everyday items. Whenever I go grocery shopping, it’s almost like a personal contest for me to stick to the budget and get the most for our money!

Some time ago, I came across some reviews on Amazon that kept citing Bzzagent as the source of the item received for those reviews. I checked out Bzzagent, signed up, then discovered that there are quite a few other sites that send out free products in exchange for honest reviews. I signed up for several and have saved my husband and I quite a bit. I haven’t had to buy razors since last year! Because these sites have been so great for me, and for my husband, I thought I’d go ahead and share them on the blog for those that are interested.

1. BzzAgent | Receive items for free in exchange for review

   I joined BzzAgent last year in July and received my first campaign just a few weeks after signing up. My next few campaigns came like rapidfire in March & April of this year. At this point, I have had campaigns with BIC, Russell Stover, Procter & Gamble, and even received a leather office chair from Comfort Products! BzzAgent is looking for quality, not quantity. Your reviews are necessary to help others decide on whether they want to purchase the product you’re reviewing. Be sure to provide detailed reviews that incorporate all of your senses! BzzAgent will provide ratings on your reviews and activities. You always want to shoot for a rating of exceptional. Having great reviews gets you invited to more campaigns! Your reviews and activities also affect your BzzScore; the higher this is, the more likelihood there is that you’ll be invited to more campaigns as well. Also, oftentimes with the campaigns, you will receive coupons toward future item purchases.

2. Smiley360 | Receive items for free in exchange for review

   I joined Smiley360 last year in July and received my first campaign in late September. My first campaign was for gummy vitamins for hair, skin, and nails. Since then, I’ve been a part of an Emergen-C campaign, All laundry detergent, Pure Protein crunch, and Centrum VitaMints. I was invited to another campaign 2 weeks ago, but declined because I was not comfortable sharing those details online. You can decline campaigns, and it is okay. It will not prevent you from being selected for future campaigns. Like BzzAgent, be sure to provide good, thorough reviews and feedback. Always think – What would you like to know if you were looking to purchase that particular product? Answer any questions that you think viewers would have in mind. As with BzzAgent, you will often receive coupons with the campaigns you get.

3. Influenster | Receive items for free in exchange for review

   I am newer to Influenster and at this point, I have received one campaign (or VoxBoxes as they call them) for Head & Shoulders shampoo. To complete the campaign task, I needed to leave a review on Head & Shoulders’ website. They do offer pretty neat boxes, as seen on their website, but I cannot vouch personally for them as I have only received 1. On Influenster, you do need to stay pretty active on the website, answering questions & writing reviews. Also, they measure your impact based on your social media connections. So if you do not have social media, Influenster would not be a good fit for you.

4. Crowdtap | Receive items for free in exchange for review + gift cards

   Crowdtap takes some effort and the way that it works is that you have to apply for samples. You also have to stay pretty active with poll participation, sharing posts, commenting on things, and so on. I have applied for several campaigns and have been approved for one, which is the Arm & Hammer one that I posted about last week. It was a great crowdkit (as they call them) with a spinbrush and toothpastes & coupons. I have been rejected for other campaigns that I thought I was a shoo-in for. So, Crowdtap is hit or miss for me thus far with campaigns. However, with the things that you participate in, you do receive points for each one. As you clear 1000 points, you receive gift cards. At this point, I have received a $5 Amazon gift card for each time the wheel has cleared 1000. If you are pretty active, that could be a great way  to stack up gift cards to purchase something you’ve had your eye on!

5. Mintvine | Earn gift cards by taking surveys

   Mintvine takes some time & effort as well. You do surveys! Each survey has a different points amount assigned to it. Each point = $1. When you reach 1000 points ($10), you can redeem that for a gift card. There are SEVERAL gift card options! You can let your points stack up if you’d like to receive a larger gift card. I have redeemed points several times for Target & Old Navy gift cards (2 of my favorite places!) so Mintvine has been great for me!

6. PinchMe | Receive free sample size items in exchange for review

   PinchMe is neat because you get free samples each month. The 2nd Tuesday of each month is Sample Day. Samples are pre-selected based on profile information that you provide. The downside of it is that, although you get free items, it can take well a month (or even more) for you to receive them. It is free, so you can’t complain, but that is just something to tuck in your hat.

These are some of my favorite sites that have been a huge help and blessing to our family. I hope they help you to discover great new items and earn money along the way. Got any questions? Feel free to leave your question in the comments below and I’ll be glad to help!