How many times have you said this to yourself—if only you could convert all the time spent on the smartphone into money! Wait, turns out, you can. Both by creating content and/or by viewing, reviewing and promoting it. So far, most are familiar with YouTube monetization, but there are some well-kept secret websites, surprisingly legit, which allow users to earn.
On World Music Day in June, Triller, an emerging AI-powered short video app, caught everyone’s attention when Bollywood actor-singer Shraddha Kapoor made a musical debut on it. Triller claims it relies solely on organic growth and has more than 300 million downloads, with celebrities like Alicia Keys and Eminem regularly using the app to create their own music videos.
Raj Mishra, Head of Triller India, says, “We intend to provide a platform and technologies that enable creators to turn their passion into a livelihood.”
It enables creators to make money directly in the app. The monetisation and merchandise offerings put power in the hands of not only fans but also brands and music labels to support their favourite creators, the app believes. Fans can buy what is called Triller Gold which can be used to donate to their favourite verified users. They can, in turn, convert it into money.
Vidya Narayanan, CEO and Co-founder of Rizzle, a Hyderabad startup and one of the top short-video platforms in India (rizzle.tv), says, “By creating 30 videos, a channel can be upgraded to premium status which then enables the audience to sponsor it. With three tiers of premium—silver, gold, and platinum—fans who like the content can choose to sponsor a channel at any of these levels from Rs 90 for three months to Rs 270 a month.
The sponsorships function as a voluntary gesture of support from the audience without any paywall. Bounty is a novel concept on Rizzle where any and every creator can create videos, reach milestones, and
win rewards.”
Then there are apps such as ClipClap and Swagbucks gaining ground for the ease of usage and letting users earn. In ClipClap on Play Store, for instance, one just has to like (a clap in this case) and then favourite it and share, and you get points for each of these actions. Like in Candy Crush, each action takes you closer to the 'treasure chest' which can earn you a bounty and earn gift cards in e-commerce sites and cash too. For your info, one lakh clap coins is worth $1 or `74. It takes nearly three minutes to earn about 1,000 clap coins.
There are a bunch of survey apps that promise to pay via e-commerce gift coupons or discounts on popular food and beverage websites. MOBORG, for example needs you to have a PayPal account to receive money. Google Opinion Rewards pays you between $0.10 and $1.00 per survey completed depending on the number of questions. However, most such surveys can take up to 20 minutes and earn you a quarter of
a dollar on a good day.
Should you trust these easy money apps?
Rupesh Mittal, CEO of Cyber Jagrithi, a foundation that creates awareness about tech frauds, has a piece of advice
•Don’t download if the app has a rating less than three in App Store or Play Store.
•Don’t sign up if you need to pay something upfront for services that you render.
• Leave the app/sit if you need to furnish info such as your annual package, tax you pay, assets you own, CVV or PINs.