Get Paid to Read Email: How It Actually Works

The Old Way: "Paid to Read Email" Scams

Let's address the elephant in the room. For years, "get paid to read email" was synonymous with scams and schemes.

The typical model: sign up for a service, receive promotional emails, click links, earn fractions of pennies. Companies like InboxDollars, Swagbucks, and others built businesses on this model.

The problems were obvious:

• Pennies per email — You might earn $0.01-0.05 per email read
• Spam flood — Your inbox becomes a dumping ground for ads
• Time sink — Hours of clicking for a few dollars
• Privacy concerns — Your data is the real product

This model turned your attention into a commodity sold to advertisers. You got crumbs; they got your eyeballs.

The New Way: You Set the Price

What if, instead of accepting whatever advertisers pay, you decided what your attention was worth?

This is the fundamental shift happening in email right now.

Rather than receiving promotional emails and getting paid pennies to read them, the new model flips the script: strangers who want to reach you pay your price, upfront, before their message ever arrives.

Think about it:

• A recruiter who wants your attention pays $10
• A salesperson who wants to pitch you pays $20
• A PR person who wants coverage pays $50

If their message isn't worth that price to them, they don't send it. Your inbox stays clean. If it is worth that price, you get paid for the attention you're giving.

This isn't "get paid pennies to read spam." This is "get paid real money to give access."

Learn more about how this works in our guide to email paywalls.

How Email Paywalls Work

The concept is simple:

1. You set your price — What's your attention worth? $5? $25? $100? You decide.

2. Your contacts aren't affected — People you know reach you normally. The paywall only applies to strangers.

3. Strangers see your price — When someone you don't know tries to email you, they see what it costs to reach your inbox.

4. They pay or they don't — Serious inquiries come through (with payment). Low-value spam stops existing.

5. You get the money — When someone pays to reach you, you receive that payment (minus a small platform fee).

Real Numbers: What Can You Actually Earn?

This depends on two factors: your visibility and your price.

High visibility + moderate price — A founder with a public email on their website, setting a $10 price, might receive 10-20 paid messages per month from serious business inquiries. That's $100-200/month.

Professional visibility + higher price — A VC or executive with a $50 price might receive fewer messages, but each one is highly qualified. 5 messages/month = $250.

Lower visibility + any price — Even if you only receive a few paid messages per year, you've still eliminated the spam that would have filled your inbox.

The money is a bonus. The real value is the time saved and the inbox peace—freedom from email overload.

Getting Started with Email Monetization

inbux makes this simple for Gmail users:

1. Connect your Gmail — Takes 30 seconds via Google sign-in

2. Set your price — Choose what strangers pay to reach you ($1-$100)

3. Share your link — Optionally share your payment page (inbux.me/yourname)

4. Earn — Get paid when people value your attention enough to pay

No spam to wade through. No clicking links for pennies. Just a simple exchange: your attention has value, and now you can capture it. You become your own email gatekeeper.