How To Make Money from Paid Surveys Online

Profiting From Paid Surveys

The first thing to understand about online surveys is that they pay you for your time; you don't pay them for the privilege. Online surveys are merely another way in which market research companies access potential customers. This sort of research has always paid contributors, and it is no different online.

A market research company has a budget for producing these surveys and that will include fee payment to those involved. The research material gained from a survey questionnaire, whether it originated online or offline, is valuable to the development of the relevant product and, therefore, the contribution of those surveyed has a value attached to it. For those who are skeptical about whether or not it is really possible to make money from filling out surveys, these are the facts that need to be considered. Online surveys do pay you because the information you supply has a value for them.

So how do you get paid for filling out online surveys? The fact is that just because something says it is an online survey, it doesn't mean it is one; not, at least, in the terms we are discussing here. Often what you are looking at is merely a promotion dressed up as an online survey; or else it may even be a case of simple opportunism. If you are expecting to earn money from filling out surveys then the best rule of thumb to use is - are they offering to pay you for your effort? If not, then don't bother, and if they are asking you to pay or accept some sort of offer of some kind then, again, don't bother.

Serious online surveys aren't going to cloud the issue with additional offers or attempts to coerce money out of you; they are there for the explicit purpose of discovering people with specific demographic profiles and, when they find those people, they want them to answer some questions for them. Don't get sidetracked if your objective is to earn money from filling out surveys.

The next question is usually: 'how much will they pay me?' That depends on the survey. They all pay differently and it can be anything from one dollar to fifty dollars; if you join a focus group you could be paid as much as two hundred dollars. But each survey is different so while one might take ten minutes to fill out another might take thirty. Some may pay you cash into your Paypal account, others might offer you coupons, vouchers or gift certificates; some even offer you points which add up top be redeemed at a later time. There is no specific price or means of payment and it's your choice whether you think it is worth your effort for the reward offered.

If you are serious about earning money from filling out online surveys then you have to approach it realistically and not get sidetracked from your objective. You will have to join as many sites as possible that are offering payment for surveys and you will have to spend a lot of time filling out profiles to make yourself available. The more sites you join and the more profiles you fill out then the more opportunities you will gain access to.

By joining a survey site and filling out a profile you are taking the first step towards getting paid for completing online surveys. Your profile acts like the demographic profile screening which determines who will tale the full questionnaire. By entering your details you are telling the survey company what your demographic profile is, and any surveys which target your specific demographic will likely be offered to you. This can take time, since these demographic questionnaires ask a lot of questions and necessarily contain a lot of information. Since they are general profiles they are probably bigger than any specific screening for any specific survey.

When you join a survey site you must be prepared to give as much information as you can and answer their questions in full. The more information you give, the more useful you become to these surveys. There, may be supplementary questions and it is best to answer them all. Some suggest creating an email account specifically for the emails you will receive from these companies so you can quickly sort them out and become instantly aware of their sending you anything of interest. Surveys are often time limited and you don't want to miss a potentially profitable opportunity because you didn't spot the email in time.

Depending on the survey site you may log in to the site to see new survey offer or you may receive email alerts when a new offer is available; acquaint yourself with the particular sites you are a member of and ensure you keep up to date on what they are offering to their members and subscribers. Some say this sort of work isn't very profitable and isn't worth the effort, others say it is. Depending upon how you approach it and how efficiently you act then it may be more or less profitable in relation to the time you spend. The fact is there is money to be earned.