By now you’ve probably heard all the sweet features coming out on the new iPhone 2.0 in July. It’s enough to make anyone drool! Fortunately, the prices are coming down, but most youth pastor salaries still don’t quite afford the luxuries of such toys. That’s why I’ve been working freebie sites to get a lot of these things for FREE instead.

Here’s what I’ve earned for free so far:

• FREE Xbox 360 Elite
• FREE 12-month subscription to Xbox Live
• FREE Halo 3 video game
• FREE 16 GB iPod Touch
• FREE $580 cash in place of an iPhone
• FREE 32 GB iPod Touch
• $160 cash (click screenshot below)
• $250 cash in place of a free Nintendo Wii (click screenshot below)
• $375 cash in place of a free PS3 (screenshot coming soon)

I interviewed a co-owner of the Bonus Network, the company that gives all this stuff away. Watch it below:

These freebie sites work because advertisers pay them for every trial customer they send their way. The freebie site then splits their income with you in form of cash or a free gift. And all the companies that participate are reputable companies with trial offers you might like to try out anyway, such as Blockbuster, Netflix, Stamps.com, Photostamps.com, Gamefly.com, etc., so it’s really a win-win situation for everyone. If, at the end of your trial, you decide that the service isn’t for you, you’re totally free to cancel it and move on without any further obligation. Either way, you still earn credit at the freebie site just for checking it out. (Check here for a list of some of the trial offers I’ve completed and my experience with each one.) Once you reach 100% credit for completing your trial offer, refer a couple other people to sign up for the freebie site under your unique referral link and get your free electronics or cash as they also complete trial offers!

In case you’d like to get free Apple products or cash, too, here’s how it works step-by-step.

FREE iPhone or iPod Touch

1. For the iPod Touch, click this link: http://www.bonusipods.com/?referral=10265
2. For the iPhone, click this link: http://www.bonusiphone.com/?referral=10265
3. Sign up to create an account.
4. Complete 1 or 2 trial offers (like Blockbuster, Netflix or BlueHost hosting, etc.) to get 100% credit and then refer other people to do the same under your referral link.
5. After you refer enough people who also complete 1 or 2 trial offers, you receive your iPhone, iPod Touch, or cash for FREE!

It honestly isn’t any more difficult than that. If you have any questions about the process, I’ve done it many times, so feel free to ask in the comments below. If you want some tips on how to earn referrals, check out these 10 ideas.

One important tip
Make sure your browser is set to accept all cookies while you go through the sign-up process both at the freebie site and when you complete offers. If you click an offer and don’t sign up for it on that visit, make sure you clear your cookies before going back to it again. Otherwise the tracking cookie might not register that you signed up for their service from the freebie site and you’ll have to request a manual credit, which can take several weeks to be approved.

Ever since I started getting free stuff like an Xbox 360 Elite, Halo 3, 12-month subscription to Xbox Live, a 16GB iPod Touch, and now $580 cash from freebie sites, the comments and emails I get are, “Wow, I want to do this, too, but how can I get people to sign up under my referral link?” Here are some ideas.

1. Be patient.
The key this is patience. We’re all excited by the prospect of getting such cool gadgets or cash for free, but it will take some patience. It took me almost 3 months to get all the referrals I needed for my first freebie — an Xbox 360 Elite — because people think it’s a scam or are naturally skeptical (as I was at first). But after my Xbox finally arrived in the mail and I had physical proof that it’s real, it’s been a lot easier. In fact, after I had proof from the Xbox, the iPod Touch freebie site only took me 5 days to get the 8 referrals I needed for the 16 GB version! (In fact, I even went over by 2.)

From what I’ve seen around the Internet, the story is true for almost everyone. The first freebie takes a while to get, but after it shows up in the mail and you have evidence for your friends, the rest of the freebies roll in a lot easier. So, be patient, stick with it and you’ll get free stuff faster after you complete your first freebie site.

2. Talk to friends.
This is probably going to be your best bet for getting referrals. Just bring it up and tell people about it. Not everyone will be interested, but you don’t need everyone to be interested — you only need a couple. “Hey, do you have an iPod?… Do you like it?… I don’t have one, but I’m trying to get the iPod Touch for free… It’s actually really simple. It works like this…”

3. Post a note in Facebook.
When you post it in Facebook, chances are many of your friends will see it. Don’t write a 5-page essay or something people won’t bother to read — keep it short, sweet, clear and concise.

4. Write about it on your blog.
If you have one, copy and paste your Facebook note to your blog.

5. Post your link in the sidebar of your blog.
Since blog posts quickly get pushed off the front page and buried in the archives, put a link to that blog post in your sidebar so it appears on every page of your site. See my site for an example.

6. Email all your friends about it.
This probably doesn’t need much of an explanation. Mass email to your address book!

7. Put the link in your email signature.
Put either your referral link or a link to your blog post at the end of every email when you sign your name. Most email has a featured called “email signature” that will automatically attach whatever text you want to the end of every email when you send it.

8. Put the link in your forum signatures.
If you’re active on any forums, put your referral link or a link to your blog post in your signature there. That way it will appear every time you reply or start a new thread. If you have a reputation for being helpful and honest, you’ll probably do pretty well there.

9. Put the link in your instant messenger away message.
Those who use instant messaging software tend to have pretty extensive buddy lists. Put your link in your IM profile. When you’re away from the computer, put up an away message that displays info about how you’re getting a certain prize for free and how they can too.

10. Use the freebie site’s promotional tools.
When you login to your account at a freebie site, they provide you with a couple great promotional tools, including HTML and forum code you can copy and paste into your blog or forum signatures, and professional graphics to use. Take advantage of these tools. They want you to refer people to their site just as badly as you do, so they’re more than happy to help you do it. (Find some of these tools in your Bonus Network account by clicking on the “Account” tab at the top of the page.)

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Wait a second, what in the world is a freebie site?

If you’re reading this and have no idea what I’m talking about, basically there’s websites out there that will give you cool electronics or cash for FREE if you sign up on their site, complete a couple trial offers from one or more of their partnering companies and then refer a certain number of other people to do the same. These freebie websites send potential customers, like yourself and your friends, to companies to try their products and services with no obligation. (Although you can cancel at any time, I recommend you be fair to the company and give them a try since they’re helping you get your free stuff). In return, the freebie website gets a commission from the company whose trial you signed up. The freebie website then spends part of it on sending you a nice thank-you in the form of cash or a cool gift like an Xbox, iPod Touch, iPhone, even HDTVs. It’s all 100% legit. I know because I’ve received several gifts myself. See here and here for proof pictures.

How much is this going to cost me?
It depends on which trial offer(s) you decide to try. Some, like trying Stamps.com for a month, are complete free and won’t cost you a penny. Others, like PhotoStamps.com, require only a 1-time cheap purchase and that’s it. Every company is real and legit and most are offers you might want to try anyway, like a month of Blockbuster or Netflix.

Wanna get started? FREE iPhone, iPods, or cash
Right now you can help me out by signing up for either the iPods site or a iPhone site.

If you need help or have any questions, please feel free to ask in the comments below. I’ve cashed out on a couple sites already, so I’ve been through the process several times.

Have fun!

Last month I posted about how I got a free Xbox 360 Elite and told you I was going to go for the 16GB iPod Touch next with the same company. Well, today my FREE 16GB iPod Touch arrived! Here’s the timeline:

1. October 26, 2007: I sign up at BonusiPods.com under someone else’s referral link and signed up for a couple trial offers. My account is credited that same day.
2. November 30, 2007: I posted about how I got my free Xbox 360 and also posted my referral link for the free iPod Touch.
3. December 5, 2007: Only a few days later I had enough referrals of people who completed an offer to get a free iPod Touch of their own. So, I submitted my account for review.
4. December 8, 2007: My account is approved and I submit my order for the 16GB iPod Touch.
5. December 9, 2007: The next day my iPod is shipped.
6. December 17, 2007: My FREE 16GB iPod Touch arrived in the mail!

Here are the proof pictures (click to see full-size):

UPDATE: I interviewed a co-owner of the Bonus Network, the company that gives all this stuff away. Watch it below. For more information about the Bonus Network and how all this works, read my more detailed post about free iPods, iPhones, Xbox 360s, Macbooks, Wii, PS3s, cash, and more.

If you want a free iPod Touch, too, sign up under this referral link.

Get an iPhone for FREE!

Now that both my Xbox Elite and iPod Touch are here, I’m going for a free iPhone through the same company. Instead of taking the iPhone, though, I’m going to take the cash offer instead to put toward vacation next summer. Obviously I have first-hand evidence that this is real and legit, not a rip-off scam or some pain-in-the-neck process. Here’s how you can get a FREE iPhone (or cash):

1. Click this link: http://www.bonusiphone.com/?referral=10265
2. Sign up to create an account.
3. Complete 1 or 2 offers (like Blockbuster, Netflix or BlueHost hosting, etc.) to get 100% credit and then refer other people to do the same under your referral link.
4. Receive your iPhone for FREE!

It honestly isn’t any more difficult than that. If you have any questions about the process, I’ve done it twice, so feel free to ask in the comments below.

A little tip:
If you click an offer and don’t sign up for it on that visit, make sure you clear your browser’s cookies before going back to it again from your BonusiPhone/BonusiPods account. Otherwise the tracking cookie might not register that you signed up for their service from BonusiPods.com/BonusiPhone.com and you’ll have to request a manual credit, which can take several weeks.

Some of you may remember back to August when I posted about how to get a Xbox 360 Elite for free from MacroBucks.com. Well, guess what? Mine came in the mail today! I got an Xbox 360 Elite, a game of my choice (I picked Halo 3, of course) and a 12-month subscription to Xbox Live for free! Here’s a timeline of how it all happened:

1. August 27, 2007: I sign up at bonusxbox360.com under someone else’s referral link and complete trial offers.
2. August 30, 2007: I post here about how to get an Xbox 360 Elite for free and started encouraging others to sign-up under my referral link and complete one of the many trial offers. The post starts showing up in Google searches and is in the sidebar of my blog.
3. November 6, 2007: I finally have 12 people who signed up under my referral link and completed one of the trial offers, so I submit my account for review.
4. November 10, 2007: My account is approved and I place my order for the Xbox 360 Elite, a game of my choice (Halo 3, of course), and a 12-month subscription to Xbox Live Gold.
5. November 13, 2007: Everything is shipped.
6. November 19, 2007: Halo 3 and the 12-month Xbox Live Gold subscription card arrive in the mail from Amazon.
7. November 30, 2007: The Xbox 360 Elite finally arrives. It was late because UPS lost the package, then Amazon went out of stock on the Elites, so they overnighted another one to me via FedEx from Circuit City even though the problem wasn’t their fault. They definitely went out of their way to keep their end of the bargain and communicated with me very well through the whole ordeal.

If you want an Xbox 360 Elite for free, too, sign up here under this referral link.

Here’s pictures for the skeptics out there. (Click the image to view it full-size.)

Anyone else on Xbox Live? Send me your gamertag! Let’s play.

Get an iPod Touch for FREE from the same company!

Now that my Xbox is here, I’m going for an iPod Touch. Obviously I have first-hand evidence that this is real and legit, not a rip-off scam or some pain-in-the-neck process. Here’s how you can get a FREE iPod Touch:

1. Click this link: http://www.bonusipods.com/?referral=10265
2. Sign up and create an account.
3. Complete 1 or 2 offers (like Blockbuster, Netflix or BlueHost hosting, etc.) to get 100% credit and then refer other people to do the same under your referral link.
4. Receive your iPod Touch for FREE!

It honestly isn’t any more difficult than that.

A little tip:
If you click an offer and don’t sign up for it on that visit, make sure you clear your browser’s cookies before going back to it again from your BonusiPods.com/BonusXbox.com account. Otherwise the tracking cookie might not register that you signed up for their service from BonusiPods.com/BonusXbox360.com and you’ll have to request a manual credit, which can take several weeks.