Derek Semmler dot com - money, motorcycles and cars (with a little bit of everything else)

The following guest post is courtesy of Steve from Gadgets4nowt. Steve, one of our regular members, has agreed to share more about how to get free gifts online and the business he has built around that concept.

If I had been asked the question just under two years ago, I would probably have just laughed or muttered something about not being born yesterday.

In recounting what has happened since, I should make it clear from the outset that I am not attempting to influence or convert anyone, just giving an honest picture of what was achievable for me and the real “cost”.

I didn’t exactly have money burning a hole in my pocket and am always up for a challenge, so decided to find out if there was a catch, expecting to get an e-book on bankrupt stock or police auctions.

As often happens with these things, I discovered the free gift scene totally by accident. Christmas 2006 was rapidly approaching and I was trying to get hold of a cheap Xbox 360 console to use as a media centre. One of the first listings I came across on eBay was offering information on how to get the console totally free; I didn’t exactly have money burning a hole in my pocket and am always up for a challenge, so decided to find out if there was a catch, expecting to get an e-book on bankrupt stock or police auctions.

Instead, I was about to enter the world of affiliate (referral) marketing. I am sure there are volumes on the subject, some of which are no doubt labeled pyramid schemes, but for those who want a bit of detail on the specific business model employed in this instance, you might want to take a look at a short video podcast put together by the BBC’s Newsnight program or maybe my own guide how to get free stuff online.

All I had to do to get my free console was sign-up to an affiliate site, take out a free DVD rental trial and refer a few friends. How difficult could that be?

I am a regular online shopper and knew the DVD rental company LOVEFiLM (the equivalent of Blockbuster or Netflix in US and Canada) from a recent national TV campaign, so had no problems with that part of the process. To be fair, the service they provide is actually pretty good!

The harder part was getting referrals…and I needed 12 of those (who would each have to take up their own offer) to get the Xbox 360 console. Luckily, after running out of family and friends who were either willing to believe what I was saying or just gave in to my constant nagging, I stumbled upon eXceem forums. They have a buzzing community of like minded freebie hunters who gave me confidence that I would get my gifts and provided tips on how to achieve that. I have since discovered similar sites such as Anything4Free.com.

I would be embarrassed to say how many other gadgets, gifts and cash have passed through my hands since!

To the cynics’ amazement, my Xbox 360 arrived on 2nd December 2006 along with a second generation iPod Nano that I had also earned…and a freebie addict was born. I would be embarrassed to say how many other gadgets, gifts and cash have passed through my hands since!

I mentioned the real “cost” in my preamble. That has not been a financial one, far from it, you can get out as much as you put in…and there’s where the problem lies; getting referrals can start to take up every waking hour, your whole life spent thinking about, talking about and implementing new “methods”. Well, that is, if you are not checking your accounts for new sign-ups, waiting for account verification or delivery of your free stuff. Getting your affiliate links out there will also almost invariably require an element of spamming and I am not proud of some of the tactics I have employed along the way. In fact, I could devote another who article and more to “methods”, the choice of free sites out there and how to avoid getting your affiliate account canceled (termed “put on hold”).

Fortunately, things changed for the better when I set up my first ever websites, Simplyfreeiphone and Gadgets4nowt – my background is certainly not web coding or design but I love a challenge (did I say that before!) and now have them both ranking extremely well. I obviously have to update the content and keep working on links but overall, it’s a fairly easy ride these days. With the evolution of the affiliate sites themselves, I no longer get my free stuff in the form of goods, most now offer custom orders in the shape of bank transfers at £17 ($35) per referral. My sites bring me in an average of 3 completed referrals a day, so there’s good money to be had.

All that’s left is to decide where do I go from here? I guess I could push some new keywords and increase traffic to my sites through rankings but there is a limit to people looking for a free games console or iPods. Can the sites be taken in another direction or should I sell them?