Learn how to use social media to make $5K per month with tiny digital products
You may have seen the latest trend making rounds on YouTube and TikTok—content creators claiming that you can make $1.45 every minute just by watching Google ads. Sounds too good to be true, right? In this post, we’re diving into a recent experiment where I tested this so-called side hustle. I’ll walk you through the method, explain why it may not work for you, and explore more reliable ways to make money online.
Part 1: How the $1.45 Per Minute Method Supposedly Works
The claim is simple: you go to a specific website, create a free account, and watch ads to earn money. The process is as follows:
- Sign Up: Create a free account on the platform (revealed in the video).
- Watch Ads: Click on the ads that appear, view them for 30–35 seconds, and close the pop-ups.
- Get Paid: The promise is that for every ad you watch, you’ll earn $1.45 per minute.
Seems easy enough, but let’s dig deeper into the potential pitfalls.
Part 2: Why This Method Might Not Work for You
Despite how simple it sounds, there are several reasons why this method won’t give you the high earnings promised:
- Limited Ads: You can only watch five ads per day, which significantly limits your earning potential. After watching those ads, your only other option is to refer others to the platform.
- High Payout Threshold: The website requires you to reach a $70 payout minimum before you can withdraw your earnings. This creates a huge barrier, as it’s unlikely you’ll visit the website every day to watch ads for weeks on end. Additionally, some users report that the closer you get to the payout threshold, the less you earn per ad.
- Time-Consuming Process: Each ad may last 30–35 seconds, but the process of closing pop-ups, refreshing your screen, and dealing with additional ads makes the whole thing take much longer. The creator’s claim of earning $1.45 per minute doesn’t account for these delays, which could easily stretch your time investment to 10 minutes per ad.
Part 3: How the Content Creator Really Makes Money
Here’s the truth: the content creator promoting this side hustle isn’t making money by watching ads. Instead, they’re earning through:
- Referral Links: The website offers $10 for each person you refer. If the creator has a large following, they can generate substantial income from these referrals. This is how they actually profit, not from watching ads.
- Recurring Content: These creators often produce similar videos every few months, targeting a new crop of viewers. By continually promoting this method and using referral links, they tap into an ongoing revenue stream.
In short, they’re leveraging their audience—not the ad-watching method—to make money.
Part 4: My Results
So, does this method work? Technically, yes—I made $2.49. But here’s the catch: it took me nearly 10 minutes to complete the process, much longer than the “one minute” claim. Between dealing with pop-ups and refreshing my screen, the actual time spent far outweighed the earnings.
While making $2.49 might sound decent, it’s not worth the time and effort when there are much more profitable ways to spend those 10 minutes.
Part 5: Better Ways to Make Money Online
Instead of wasting your time watching ads, there are several proven, scalable methods for generating income online. Here are a few to consider:
1. Create and Sell Digital Products
Digital products like courses, eBooks, templates, and guides can be created once and sold over and over again. Whether you’re offering a how-to guide, workout plan, or design template, digital products provide ongoing passive income. You can promote these through social media, blogs, or platforms like Etsy.
2. Affiliate Marketing
Affiliate marketing involves recommending products and earning a commission for every sale made through your referral link. Focus on products you genuinely use and create content around them—whether through blog posts, YouTube videos, or TikTok. The great thing about affiliate marketing is that it can scale indefinitely with little extra work.
3. Create Short-Form Content
Instead of spending time watching ads, invest that time in creating short-form content like TikTok videos, YouTube Shorts, or Instagram Reels. Platforms often reward creators with monetization opportunities, and these videos can be repurposed across multiple platforms, giving you more exposure for the same effort.
For example, in the same 10 minutes I spent watching ads, I could have created a TikTok video promoting my own digital product or affiliate offer—an effort that could potentially bring in hundreds of dollars.
4. Membership Programs
If you have a particular area of expertise, you could create a monthly membership program. For a small monthly fee, members get exclusive content, tutorials, or resources. Over time, this can generate reliable recurring revenue, especially if you build a loyal community.
Final Verdict: Is the Ad-Watching Side Hustle Worth It?
After testing this method, I can confidently say that it’s not a good use of your time. While it’s possible to make some money, the effort required is disproportionate to the returns. Your time is much better spent creating content, selling digital products, or diving into affiliate marketing.