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*Update*: Ciao.co.uk is no more.

It appears that the site shut down shortly after I wrote this post. Please get in touch if you used this site 2007-2010 (my prime years) and tell me your favourite memories about the site. I actually owe so much to this site, because it's the place I discovered how to make real money from the internet (so the reason for this site) and it's also the site where I found my wife!

Ciao in 2009, as per Archive.org

I don't drink, but let's pour one our for Ciao.

==

How Does Ciao Work?

Ciao pay you for opinions. They list thousands of products covering loads of different categories, and leave it up to the public to talk about them. They want people to give their honest feedback about every item on there. It doesn't matter if your experience was terrible, an obvious fluke, or doesn't match up with the other reviews. Ciao just want you to say what you think.

Now you get the concept, it's time to start writing. Think about what you would want to know if you were buying it. Run through all of the good points, the bad points, rate it on a 1-5 scale, and that's that. In return for all of your hard work, Ciao pay its users straight into their bank accounts. There's no messing around; once you hit redemption point, click a couple of buttons to get rewarded.

What's in it for You?

Gimme an ‘M'. Gimme an ‘O'. Gimme an ‘N'. You know the deal. There's actual money available for committed writers on here. As well as the straight reimbursements for publishing and ratings, they also do regular competitions to encourage more reviews about particular products.

Bear in mind that your reviews will not just continue to gradually take in money. If you're inactive, that's it. Your earnings will dry up and you'll have to start from scratch again. There's no passive income stream around here.

What's in it for Them?

It's an Amazon affiliate site, plain and simple. They saw the vision very early on, and realised that if they can outsource the content writing, the site's income will gradually increase in value and earning potential.

It's a very clever way of doing it. Considering that this exists, it makes me wonder why anyone would write and publish their opinions on other consumer product review websites.

What's My Experience with Ciao.co.uk

Ciao is a website I spent a lot of time on, because it really worked. If you make yourself part of the community, rate other people's reviews, post frequently and ensure that you're work is of a high quality, you will do well.

Over the course of my tenure on the website, I made a couple of thousand pounds. I only got there because I was committed and made unwise sacrifices (woops).

One of the best times with Ciao came when they introduced an American site – ciao.com – and allowed everyone to repost content from the UK site. Per review, they paid $1, so a LOT of money was made that month. Dooyoo is/was a partner site to Ciao that allowed you to share content over both and earn additional money from your posts, but it doesn't seem to be paying any more (a shame, since it's where I earned over £1,000 in Amazon gift cards).

I'll be real: I reviewed over 1,000 products on there. Of course I didn't own them all. I realised early on that if I just reviewed music – which I could download or stream for free – I wouldn't have to spend money to make some back. And it worked. Obviously, if you want to review in other categories convincingly, you will probably have to stick to things you know well, and have bought, but there are ways to make a lot of cash sustainably, without having to break the bank by spending your earnings.

Now I know the game, although I see why someone new to making money online would go to Ciao, anyone that wants to make money by reviewing products will do better off publishing on their own blog. If you're not as confident at doing that, give this a try.

Vitals

Minimum redemption: £5

Time required: High double figures per month for good users. Low triple figures for dons

Effort required: To do well, all of your free time will be required

Website: Ciao

Summary

Get paid to review the things you own, or know well. Bit of relationship-building required to make actual money.

UPDATE: The site is no longer active. 

Chiino
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