We looked at three mini hustles this week — sites that pay a small amount of money for little to no real work. And, while none of these will make you rich, they each offer worthwhile opportunities given the little time and effort required.
Mini fuss
Of the three newly discovered mini-hustles, the easiest to use is called OneMeasure Perks.
This site is a division of GWS, a mobile information consultancy. GWS conducts studies on topics such as which mobile networks have the best coverage. Or which cell phone network performs best at DisneyWorld — or in their own customers’ homes, among other things.
To gather this data, GWS turns to OneMeasure. OneMeasure simply pays users to keep the website’s app running in the background on an Android phone. The site’s software can then measure your network signal strength wherever you are.
Since you do nothing but leave the app running, you don’t get paid much. In the US, payout is 160 points, worth 16 cents, per day. So in an average month, you’ll earn about $5, which is paid out in gift cards.
The catch: Right now, this app is currently only available for Android phones. (They’re working on an IOS app.) And it uses cell phone data, so it might not be worth it if you’re on a limited plan.
Notably, we’re not always fans of companies that want to spy on you for a fee. Invisibly, which asks you to share everything from purchases to banking data, asks too much private information for too little, in our opinion. But given OneMeasure’s limited interest, we think it’s an attractive get-something-for-nearly-nothing proposition.
Mixed up
Scrambly is a pay-to-play app.
Like most mini hustle platforms of this type, Scrambly is paid by app developers and advertisers who want more people to buy things or engage with their games. And it works with market researchers, who need consumers to fill out surveys, and streaming companies who want new customers and customer feedback.
Ignore offers that require you to buy something unless you were in the market to buy that item anyway. Where Scrambly shines is in offering rewards for playing games on your smartphone. That doesn’t mean you’ll make a good hourly wage playing games, by the way. But, you can earn decent pocket money. And since a lot of people play games on their smartphones for fun, we think the modest payouts are good enough as long as the site lives up to its promises.
Notably, this isn’t always the case with other apps that play games. Competing sites like CashGiraffe, Bubble Cash and Bingo Cash make it difficult, if not impossible, to get paid to play. They do this by setting their payout thresholds so high ($100-$150) and their rewards so low (fractions of a penny), that the chance of cashing out is slim to none.
Scrambly does the opposite. It allows people to make cash with as little as $1. and is among the best paid of these types of apps. When testing the site, we found it easy to generate a redemption within minutes of signing up. And, for gaming enthusiasts, the app offered payouts of $100 or more for reaching top levels in certain games. This may take some time. But, it’s a plus for people who really enjoy the activity.
Dreamstime
Dreamstime is a stock photo website that recruits freelance artists, photographers, videographers and musicians to upload images and clips for sale. Buyers include media organizations, websites, advertising agencies and others who need relatively generic photos or clips to illustrate a story, brochure or advertisement.
Auction art generally sells for a relatively small amount — anywhere from a few cents to a few dollars. So unless you sell thousands of photos or clips, selling stock photos won’t make you rich.
A popular photo of lavender in bloom, for example, sold 14 times over two weeks on Dreamstime. For that, the photographer earned $8.76 — between 38 cents and $1.98 per purchase.
That being said, stock images can sell almost unlimited times. And, apart from taking a photo or creating a piece of art, the only effort required of you is to upload the piece, which is likely to take a few seconds. So if you manage to design a popular illustration or take an iconic photo, that image can generate semi-passive income for years.
Sell, sell and sell again
However, recognizing that this is a volume business, the smartest way to make money with stock art is to upload it to multiple sites. In addition to Dreamstime, consider uploading your photos and images to other stock photo sites such as Alamy, Foap, Getty Images, Adobe Stock, and Shutterstock.
You can use the same art to illustrate print-on-demand products with FineArtAmerica and Society6. Simply upload the art and select the products you want your art to depict. These sites market, manufacture and mail the products. You earn royalties every time a product featuring your art is sold.
5/2/2024
